A day after the arrest of a teenager in connection with rape and murder of a minor, police today detained seven persons for questioning.
Police yesterday arrested Javed Rehman Shaikh (19), a technician with a cable operator, on charges of raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl in suburban Kurla in June.
They are hoping that his interrogation would give them leads in solving other cases.
Police sources said seven persons have been detained after brief questioning of Javed.
“We have picked up seven persons to probe their role in all the three cases,” a police official said.
On February 9, the body of a five-year-old girl, who was raped and murdered, was found in a drain in Nehru Nagar. On March 7, a nine-year-old girl was found raped and murdered on the terrace of a building in Nehru Nagar police quarters.
Police are yet to make a breakthrough in these two cases.
Meanwhile, residents in suburban Kurla say the killer who raped and murdered two minors in February and March remaining untraceable is worrying them.
“We were slightly relieved to hear that an accused involved in rape and murder of a minor was held. But the rapist, who killed two minors in February and March, is still absconding. It is worrying us,” said Mangesh Satam, father of a nine-year-old girl.
“We should not relax. We will continue to remain alert and help police nab the culprit,” Mr. Satam added.
Another Kurla resident Mohammed Aslam Shaikh said they were aware of the sketch of a suspect involved in two unsolved rape and murder cases and would inform the police if they come across anyone matching the sketch.
“The sketch is printed in our mind. Everybody including newspaper and vegetable vendors, tea stall and shops’ owners are looking for that man. We will actually be relieved only after the arrest of the absconding accused,” Mr. Shaikh added.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjeev Dayal reiterated that they would arrest the accused involved in the two other cases soon.
“People need not worry. We have not scaled down our deployment in the area. There is a significant progress in other cases also,” he added.
There were over 29 police teams including a special team headed by two Joint Police Commissioners, which were working continuously to solve the remaining cases, he added.
