Kolkata: A woman journalist returning home from work in a private bus was allegedly slapped, abused, molested and had her dress torn by a 55-year-old co-passenger. The accused, Sanjay Basak, of Narayanpur in Bengal’s South 24 Parganas, was seated on a seat reserved for women, next to the complainant, Friday night.According to her complaint, the accused started touching her inappropriately. “I asked him to sit properly multiple times but he was abusive… I shouted at him, raising an alarm,” she told TOI. Startled, the man stood up. “He picked up my bag and threw it at me. As I raised my voice, he slapped me and began tugging at my clothes, which tore.”The woman, with the help of some co-passengers, dragged the man out and handed him over to police.“We registered a case under BNS sections dealing with molestation, voluntarily causing grievous hurt, criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint, & mischief. The woman will depose her confidential statement before the magistrate Monday,” police said. Basak was granted bail with condition of timely appearance before the magistrate.