Cops make arrest after 16 days

The MIDC police maintain there was no reluctance on their part to trace traffic police constable Sandeep Gawde, who was arrested on Thursday for allegedly abusing and assaulting business analyst Karuna Rao near Akruti City signal in Andheri (East) on November 16.

The MIDC police maintain there was no reluctance on their part to trace traffic police constable Sandeep Gawde, who was arrested on Thursday for allegedly abusing and assaulting business analyst Karuna Rao near Akruti City signal in Andheri (East) on November 16.

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According to officers of the MIDC police station, where Rao's complaint has been registered, the address Gawde provided to the regional transport office (RTO) while registering his bike, which was seized after the incident, was his old one at a locality near Pump House area of Andheri (East). He had recently shifted to the MIDC police quarters, where he was staying with his wife and a one-and-a-half-year-old son.

"We had sent a team to the address, in the Raghu Sukhar chawl. Our men could not find the area for several days as it is comprises several slums. We found one Chaggan chawl and questioned around three to four persons whose last names were Gawde, but that, too, did not help," said Suresh Hujband, senior police inspector of MIDC police station.

Acting on the information, the police enquired with the traffic department, following which Gawde was traced and arrested.

It is notable, however, that the police action, pending for 15 days, came a day after Hindustan Times reported the incident.