Cops suspect serial child-rapist is on prowl in Jogeshwari
Abhijit Sathe and Omkar Khandekar
Police suspect that the July 5 rape of a fiveyear-old girl from Jogeshwari is not a one-off incident. They believe that a paedophile who is a serial offender is on the prowl.
A nine-year-old from the same locality survived a similar sexual assault when she escaped from the clutches of her abductor on July 10.
On July 5, the girl, who was staying with her relatives in some Jogeshwari shanties, was abducted at night.
Although her relatives tried hard to search for her, she could not be found. The next morning, the victim was found in a semi-conscious state in Goregaon near the Aarey colony.
The victim is still in shock and psychiatrists are trying to counsel her. After being operated on for her injuries, she is recuperating in hospital and not in a state to speak to the police to describe the assailant.
The second girl from the same locality was, however, lucky. The nine-year-old was abducted in circumstances similar to the other girl, but she managed to raise an alarm and alert others, which led to her abductor dropping her and fleeing.
“Both incidents appear to have been committed by a paedophile. It is a serious matter and we have deployed teams to crack the cases,” additional police commissioner (West) Milind Bharambe told Mumbai Mirror.
The Meghwadi police have formed several teams to explore all angles in the case. “Initially, relatives of the victim in the July 5 incident tipped us off about a 23-year-old relative who they suspected to be the offender. They claimed the girl got frightened when she met the relative again after the incident and later named him as the one who took her away. But we verified his movements and could not find anything suspicious,” said a police officer.
The police have acquired CCTV footage from cameras installed in the locality where the victims stay to check for clues.
Cops initially suspected that the July 5 incident could have been an act of revenge by someone who had a score to settle with the victim’s family.
But the strange similarities between the July 5, the July 10 and October 2013 incidents have made them do a rethink.
Police suspect that the July 5 rape of a fiveyear-old girl from Jogeshwari is not a one-off incident. They believe that a paedophile who is a serial offender is on the prowl.
A nine-year-old from the same locality survived a similar sexual assault when she escaped from the clutches of her abductor on July 10.
Furthermore, last October, a three-year-old girl from the same locality had been abducted, sexually assaulted and dumped in Goregaon, in an incident similar to the July 5 rape. In that case, too, the accused has not yet been arrested.
On July 5, the girl, who was staying with her relatives in some Jogeshwari shanties, was abducted at night.
Although her relatives tried hard to search for her, she could not be found. The next morning, the victim was found in a semi-conscious state in Goregaon near the Aarey colony.
The victim is still in shock and psychiatrists are trying to counsel her. After being operated on for her injuries, she is recuperating in hospital and not in a state to speak to the police to describe the assailant.
The second girl from the same locality was, however, lucky. The nine-year-old was abducted in circumstances similar to the other girl, but she managed to raise an alarm and alert others, which led to her abductor dropping her and fleeing.
“Both incidents appear to have been committed by a paedophile. It is a serious matter and we have deployed teams to crack the cases,” additional police commissioner (West) Milind Bharambe told Mumbai Mirror.
The Meghwadi police have formed several teams to explore all angles in the case. “Initially, relatives of the victim in the July 5 incident tipped us off about a 23-year-old relative who they suspected to be the offender. They claimed the girl got frightened when she met the relative again after the incident and later named him as the one who took her away. But we verified his movements and could not find anything suspicious,” said a police officer.
The police have acquired CCTV footage from cameras installed in the locality where the victims stay to check for clues.
Cops initially suspected that the July 5 incident could have been an act of revenge by someone who had a score to settle with the victim’s family.
But the strange similarities between the July 5, the July 10 and October 2013 incidents have made them do a rethink.
