POCSO accused flees from Vasai cops, caught within 30 mins hiding in water drum

At 3pm on Monday, before he could be produced in court, Khan, under the pretext of using the toilet, and fled

MUMBAI: A 23-year-old man who was arrested on Sunday for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Nalasopara fled from police custody on Monday afternoon when he was brought to the Vasai court. After a 30-minute search, the police found him hiding inside a water drum in a village close to the court.

The accused, Danish Khan, was found in a deserted house in a village near the court

The accused, Danish Khan, was arrested after the minor victim’s parents, who hail from Uttar Pradesh and reside in the Santosh Bhuvan area, filed a complaint with the police on Friday. According to the statement by the girl, the accused took her to a deserted place and raped her. The Tulinj police had initially registered a case against an unknown person under Section 64 (rape) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanihta, 2023, Sections 4 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault), 8 (sexual assault), and 12 (sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The victim’s health had deteriorated after the brutal rape. As the case was sensitive and serious, a Crime Branch-2 team from the Nalasopara police began investigating the case. Within 48 hours, the team, under the guidance of Senior Police Inspector Aviraj Kurade, went through the CCTV footage and identified the accused as Khan, also known as Jamir. “He is a habitual criminal, with previous cases of vehicle theft registered against him,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Madan Ballal.

The Crime Branch arrested the accused and handed him over to the Pelhar police for further investigation. At 3pm on Monday, before he could be produced in court, Khan, under the pretext of using the toilet, fled. When he failed to return after some time, officers searched for him in the court premises before checking in nearby villages, including houses. Within minutes, the residents of the villages also assisted them in finding the accused. Passersby informed the police that they saw him go to a wadi in the Vasai Panchayat Samiti. Officers then located him as he was hiding in a water drum in a deserted house. They then took him back to the court and produced him before a Vasai magistrate.