Cops form 8 teams to catch Spanish woman’s rapist

The police have formed eight teams to trace the man who allegedly raped and robbed a Spanish national at knifepoint in her Bandra apartment early on Monday.

The police have formed eight teams to trace the man who allegedly raped and robbed a Spanish national at knifepoint in her Bandra apartment early on Monday. The police, who believe the accused had originally broken into the apartment with the intention of committing theft, have started rounding up criminals in the western region.

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Vishwas Nangre-Patil, additional commissioner of police (west) region, said: “We have clues about the accused and there are eight teams following different leads in the case. The accused should be arrested soon.”

The police said when the victim heard the accused in the flat and ran out and knocked on her neighbour’s door, but they were not in the city. “He dragged her back inside and we suspect he demanded cash and gold. But she could not understand. We suspect his original intention was just to rob, but he raped her as he got the chance,” an official said.

After the rape, as the accused started looking for valuables, the victim rushed into the bathroom and locked herself in and started yelling for help, which alerted the fourth floor residents, who called the police.

The accused then fled with some euros, Rs. 1,000 and a camera, collectively worth Rs. 35,000.

Sources in the Bandra police said the accused fled with the nightclothes she had been wearing to destroy evidence.

“When we reached, she was inside the bathroom. We told her we are policemen, but she was too petrified to open the door. Eventually, we had to break the door down,” an official said.

The police said they are scanning crime records for similar modus operandi and have already questioned several criminals who have a history of breaking into homes and robbery. The police are also preparing a sketch of the accused and will scan CCTV footage of the area for leads.

“We are rounding up criminals. The teams are working on different angles,” said Nangre-Patil.