Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai Police is on the hunt for one or two alleged serial rapists following four such cases coming to light in the city. Police said the perpetrator, who targets minor girls, had allegedly raped a minor in Koparkhairane on Wednesday.
The accused, who is suspected to be mentally ill, raped a 12-year-old in Turbhe village on Monday when the girl was alone in her hut. The case has been registered by the APMC police station. DCP (Crime Branch) Tushar Doshi said, “The accused is involved in both the Turbhe and Koparkhairane cases, as we have spotted the same suspect in CCTV footage from both areas.”
Police said on Wednesday, the victim was followed by the accused while returning home with the lunch box after her father, who runs a tailoring shop in the area, had finished eating. They said the accused followed her home and told her elder sister that their father had asked the younger girl to return to the shop to collect some ready clothes.
“According to the complainant’s elder sister, the accused showed her a phone claiming her father has been continuously calling him to fetch her sister, so she asked the victim to accompany him. However, the accused took her to an under-construction building, raped her and left her there. It seemed almost like the girl was hypnotised; she doesn’t know why she couldn’t resist the assault,” Senior PI Bharat Kamble, Koparkhairane police station, said.
He added, “The accused targets minor girls who have a routine of leaving home for work. He studies their movements. Similar cases have been reported to the police in CBD Belapur, Sanpada and Kharghar.” The Koparkhairne police station has already formed two teams to investigate the case, along with teams from APMC, CBD Belapur and Kharghar police stations and the Crime Branch.
In June, a resident of Sector 12, Kharghar was raped when she stepped out to dispose of waste in the public dustbin. As she returned home, an unidentified accused in his mid-twenties approached her saying he was a friend of her father, who was waiting for her at Kharghar railway station, and asked her to accompany him. At the station, he made her walk a little further to an isolated area, where he allegedly raped her and later threatened her with dire consequences if she spoke about it. He dropped her near her residence in an autorickshaw and fled. A similar incident was reported in CBD Belapur and Sanpada.
Mr. Doshi said, “We have circulated his details and CCTV images in Thane and Mumbai. We suspect he is not from Navi Mumbai, which is making it difficult to trace him. All police stations in Navi Mumbai have been alerted, and special patrolling is on in slums and chawl areas, where we suspect the accused is likely to be loitering. We have also announced a cash prize of ₹10,000 to anyone who can give us information. The accused in Belapur, Kharghar and Sanpada cases are believed to be same person after analysing the description and sketches made. The accused in the APMC and Koparkhairane cases are same too. Prima facie we believe there are two accused involved.”
Similar cases are registered at Kandivali and Dindoshi police stations. The first case against the accused in Navi Mumbai was registered in April in Sanpada, then in Khargar in June and in Belapur in July. The accused is also a suspect in a rape case registered in May with Kandivali police and with Dindoshi police in June.
