“People came to know about this incident because it was highlighted by the media. My shop is open till late in the night and I have witnessed at least five such incidents in a week involving rowdies coming from Juhu beach,” said Abdullah Aziz, an employee at the Baskin Robins ice-cream parlour opposite to the five-star hotel.

Aziz said it’s not possible for a couple of men with girls to fight off the rowdies who come in large numbers, especially on big occasions.

Rajeev Sabharwal, owner of a designer wear outlet opposite the hotel, said the police needed to be more vigilant to avoid such incidents. “I am sure the men who molested the girls had come from Juhu beach. It’s a sad incident,” he said.

Meanwhile, J W Marriott officials said the incident happened on the Juhu-Tara Road. “When the incident occurred, Marriott’s Director of Operations Jason Nuell was with ACP Kaizer Muhammed outside the hotel surveying the area,” said Director of Marketing and Communications (JW) Khushnooma Kapadia.

An official statement released by the Marriott read: “The hotel had taken stringent security measures to ensure the safety and security of guests. All guests were advised against walking on the streets and the hotel was providing cars to ferry guests to the parking and hotel taxis to drop them to their destinations.”