Thaltej serial molester arrested, booked under POCSO

Parshva Shah is rich and married. A father of two, he is in fact a very good son, a doting husband, a loving father and a supportive brother to his lawyer sister. And, he is also a serial molester. Parshva Shah, according to Ahmedabad Police, has a fixed modus operandi. He would grope the breast of young girls, speed up, then slow down to turn back and look at the harassed victims’ faces.

He would then give a lewd smile and drive away. Ahmedabad Mirror is glad to inform that he has been arrested and now booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) which means he will not be freed on bail. He will serve prison for minimum 6 to 10 years. In case there are more cases registered against him, he will be under bars for a longer time.

Ahmedabad Mirror’s decision to name, shame and expose molesters worked on the first day itself. On Thursday, after seeing Mirror and Times of India, another 16-year-old girl came forward and told her parents, “This is the man who molested me 16 months back”. The shocked parents took a look at the society CCTV footage they had in their custody since January 29, 2018.

Jan 29, 2018

Parshva Shah used the same operandi. According to Arjunsinh, his daughter Priyanki Gohil was standing just opposite her flat’s main gate in Thaltej, waiting for her school van. “It was around 7.30 am when a tall, huge, bald man passed by me. He was scary-looking. He passed on, and then suddenly took a U-turn from a little distance away,” she had told her parents. She was fourteen and half years old.

He suddenly came, groped her breast and then sped away. He stopped a little distance away, looked at the face of the shattered girl and gave a lewd laugh before making his getaway. “My daughter called us up from her school van which arrived a minute later. We immediately rushed down to check the CCTV footage and we found this middleaged bald man on a blue bike. That time, his bike did not have registration number. I went to all bike agencies to get details and deliveries of a blue bike but the agencies refused to give the details. Our CCTV footage was not clear then,” he said.

Priyanki’s mother Manushi said when she saw Ahmedabad Mirror today, she screamed, ‘Mom, this is him’. Arjunsinh told Mirror that no child should go through this experience and rigorous punishment should be levied against all abusers. “This man appears to be from an influential family and we are scared they will force us to compromise. If he ever gets bail, he will run away from India,” she said.

Ahmedabad Mirror is sad to inform that Priyanki Gohil was a school topper and had to appear for her Class X board examinations two months after this traumatizing incident. The incident completely shattered her and her ranking, which was always number one, dipped to seven.”When their child identified her molester, the parents rushed to Sola High Court police station and registered a formal complaint against Parshva Shah.


Parshva in jail

Parshva was arrested for molesting 17-year-old Janvi Jadeja, who was on her morning walk, near Gulab Tower on Wednesday. But his act was caught on CCTV. A complaint was filed. His registration with the RTO was checked and DCP Pravin Mal sent the team of Senior Inspector Parag Chauhan and Inspector Dilipdaan Gadhvi at night so that Parshva is caught unaware. Parshva initially refused and objected to police presence in house and displayed an attitude, shouting. When the cops said he was going to be arrested for molesting a girl, he laughed and denied it. His wife, mother and two kids were present, too.

Later after he was arrested, at the police station, he claimed he was being wrongly framed. PI Chauhan showed him the CCTV footage of him molesting Janvi. He broke down and started crying. Parshva was brought to Sola High Court police station around 12 midnight. He spent a restless night. Like a caged animal, he kept on moving around in his cell. According to police, he missed the air-conditioning and complained about the weather in the night.

May 28, 2019, Thaltej

Janvi Jadeja was taking a morning walk around 8 am near Someshwar Park when Parshva came from behind on a bike and suddenly groped her breast. He drove a few metres ahead, looked back, smiled and sped away. Janvi went home and started sobbing. Her uncle put his foot down and refused to let the incident pass. He insisted that the family should register a complaint.


The Serial Molester

How shameless is Parshva Shah can be deduced from the fact that he was out to buy medicine for his father Sanjay (name changed to protect his identity) who is suffering from paralysis. He was on his way when he spotted the 17-year-old on morning walk. After groping her breast, he went and bought medicines and then went to his garage. His team mates say he was absolutely normal.

More about Parshva

Parshva owns Shreyas Garage, a popular car garage near Ashram Road. When Ahmedabad Mirror visited the garage, our correspondent found it very busy. The employees were scared to reveal details about their “sheth” and claimed that they were not sure if their boss could ever do such a miserable act, ever.

The garage was set up by Parshva’s father. Parshva got married 11 years ago to Vaishali (name changed). After the family realised that the man in their house is a serial molester, Vaishali and their two children have been sent off to Bhavnagar. Parshva is fond of travelling and has taken his family to several holiday destinations in and outside India. All compliments go to Ahmedabad police for quick arrest and positive response to parents of the affected children.

DCP Pravin Mal said I appreciate the courage shown by the parents and especially the young girls who have come forward. Through Ahmedabad Mirror, DCP Mal has asked parents and girls to come forward against Parshva Shah or any other molester whom they can arrest to make Ahmedabad safe. Appreciating Ahmedabad Mirror’s campaign, he said, “It is easier for people to come forward now since Ahmedabad Mirror has come on the forefront highlighting these cases. Together, let us make Ahmedabad, safe again.”

Parshva Shah does not have good reputation

About 3-4 years ago, some female paying guests in the society had accused Parshva Shah of similar misbehaviour. There was a huge fight between the paying guests and him and they had shamed him publicly. Mirror spoke to three neighbours and the general consensus was that Parshva Shah was a violent, aggressive and short-tempered man.

They were all praise for his wife whom they said was very friendly, grounded and innocent. Few neighbours said the wife often looked sad and they guessed she was having problems in her marriage but she never discussed it. Most neighbours said they stayed cleared of Parshva and they got negative vibes from him. They said Parshva is a college dropout.

Parshva on social media

Parshva is a ‘deshbhakt’. He reflects his patriotism by photoshopping and planting Indian flags in India and abroad at places he visits on holidays. Surprisingly, his social media account says he is not much active and does not have many friends either. His photographs never reflects anyone except his wife and kids.

On Facebook, he has 22 friends only. The only pages he has liked are pages of Miss and Mrs Ahmedabad, Sunny Leone, some dancers, designer studios, Bollywood and resorts in Goa besides baby magazines and few singers. He has also like a page talking about his Jain religion.

(Inputs by Kunal Shah)
(Names changed to protect identities)