MUMBAI: A 40-year-old
auto rickshaw driver was arrested on Friday from his Gorai residence after he
masturbated in front of a media professional in his vehicle from
Malad to Borivli on Wednesday night. Rajbahadur Pal, from Jaunpur in UP, committed the offence after he stopped his auto in a relatively deserted lane around 11pm. The case was solved within 12 hours after an
FIR was registered late on Thursday. Borivli police said Pal, after committing the offence, stayed back at his residence for two days. Pal will be produced in court on Saturday.
The woman boarded the auto from Infinity-II mall on Malad Link Road and was texting colleagues. By the time the auto reached Kandivli, she got a call from a friend. When speaking to the friend, she noticed the driver touching himself inappropriately. The victim jumped out of the auto two minutes away from home. "Before we could reach, he parked his auto, pulled down his pants and began masturbating," she said in a
Facebook post, adding that six men there-four were auto drivers- saw him but did nothing.
DCP (zone XI) Sangramsinh Nishandar supervised a team of inspectors Ravindra Avhad and Ravi Adane, assistant inspector Shyam Nair and sub-inspector Abhinay Pawar, and tracked him down. Police contacted the auto owner's son. "Technical help and
CCTV footage helped the team track down Pal within 12 hours," said Nishandar.
The victim told TOI, "It took less than 12 hours for Mumbai Police to crack the case. It can be used as an example for everybody who thinks they are not cooperative. They are if you are. Be patient. Look where it got me!" The auto was registered in the name of a person who died in 2016 and his family stays in Jaunpur. "After the victim provided the number, police scanned RTO records and got a Dahisar address. But the auto owner's family had sold the house after his death and given the auto to Pal. "We got Pal's description from the auto owner's son and caught him," said an officer.
Meanwhile, the victim uploaded a fresh post detailing how she has been a victim before but never spoke out those times.
Picture used for representational purpose
