Mumbai: The city-wide Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera network installed last year helped the police apprehend an autorickshaw driver who had allegedly molested a teenage girl with a learning disability on July 2 in Versova.
“The victim, who is 15 years old, was injured in a fall, and her mother had hailed the accused’s autorickshaw to take her to a doctor. Around 11:45 p.m., the autorickshaw stopped outside a private hospital near the Versova Telephone Exchange, and the girl’s mother went inside to check if a doctor was available. During the five minutes that the victim was alone in the vehicle, the driver molested her,” said Senior Police Inspector Kiran Kale, Versova police station
The accused then fled the scene. The victim told her mother about the incident. The mother took the girl home after getting her injuries treated.
Family emergency
The next day, the victim’s grandmother passed away, and they left for their native place. “The mother approached us around five days ago after returning to Mumbai. We recorded her statement and registered a case against unidentified persons,” Mr. Kale said.
The investigating team first visited the hospital. The CCTV camera at its entrance had captured footage of the autorickshaw on the night of the offence. Using other cameras in the area, the police tracked the vehicle’s movements and identified its licence plate number.
Help from RTO
The police contacted the Regional Transport Office and obtained its registration details. The vehicle’s owner had employed four to five people to drive it in shifts. All the drivers were brought to the police station for inquiries. When one of them, Bhoomeshwar Kesari (52) of the Gilbert Hill area in Andheri, appeared evasive and nervous, the police questioned him and also confronted him with the victim.
An officer said, “The victim told us he was the man who had molested her.”
Kesari was arrested on Wednesday night and charged under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.