Man held in Gujarat for raping 10-year-old Mumbai girl

Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused took the girl into the bushes near the railway tracks and sexually abused her.

Officers from Kandivli police station arrested a 36-year-old man from Gujarat for allegedly kidnapping and raping a 10-year-old Mumbai girl. 

Cops secured a lead and traced the whereabouts of the accused to Gujarat. Meanwhile, several police teams were investigating to other states following numerous tip-offs.(Representation pic)

The minor, who lives with her family along the SV Road, was kidnapped on March 5 from Kandivli (West) around 1.30 am while she was asleep, police officials said. Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused took the girl into the bushes near the railway tracks and sexually abused her. 

After the girl was found, the police formed six teams to identify and arrest the accused. After the initial failure to secure leads in the case, cops stared scrutinising CCTV footage recorded by cameras installed at railway stations across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai.

Cops secured a lead and traced the whereabouts of the accused to Gujarat. Meanwhile, several police teams were investigating to other states following numerous tip-offs. 

“The accused was arrested and booked under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012,” said senior inspector Mukund Pawar from Kandivli police station. 

Officials said that although the accused does not have a fixed residential place in Mumbai, he is based out of Uttar Pradesh. After he was identified with the help of CCTV footage recovered from near the railway station, the police sent a team to track him to his hiding spot in Gujarat. 

The accused was produced in Dindoshi sessions court and was remanded in custody till April 1. The police are investigating whether the accused had committed similar offences in the past.