The Local Crime Branch of the Thane Rural Police has arrested an alleged serial molester accused of molesting at least two people, including a woman and a minor girl, in Mira Road.
According to police officers, the first complaint was registered with the Naya Nagar police station on April 14, when an 11-year-old girl, who was on her way home after visiting a nearby stationery shop, was accosted by the accused, who allegedly flashed his private parts at her. The victim told her mother, and her parents approached the police.
On April 15, a 22-year-old girl was also targeted in a similar fashion by the accused at 11 p.m. when she was on her way home from work, and a separate complaint was lodged with the Naya Nagar police. The Local Crime Branch was approached to look into the possibility of a serial molester being at large, and a team led by Assistant Police Inspector Pramod Badakh, Kashimira unit, initiated inquiries into the matter.
“We scanned CCTV camera footage of the area where both the offences took place and spotted the accused. Since both the offences had occurred in Naya Nagar, we started going door to door in the area, showing his picture to residents and shopkeepers, till a shop owner recognised him,” an officer who was part of the operation said.
The shop owner identified the accused as Mehfooz Sheikh (21), a Mira road resident who did odd jobs like painting window grilles and selling garments, for a living. He directed the police to Mr. Sheikh’s employer, who told them Mr. Sheikh had gone to his home town, Lucknow, for a few days.
On Friday, the Kashimira unit received a tip-off that Mr. Sheikh had returned to his residence, after which he was picked up. After sustained questioning, he allegedly confessed to having committed several such offences over the last two years, including the two in Naya Nagar. “We have handed the accused over to the Naya Nagar police,” Vyankat Andhale, senior police inspector, Local Crime Branch, said.