What were the cops doing?

Had the Borivli police been less callous and acted on time, they could have prevented the kidnapping and rape of a 14-year-old girl from Charkop.

Had the Borivli police been less callous and acted on time, they could have prevented the kidnapping and rape of a 14-year-old girl from Charkop.

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The local goons who kidnapped her - Manish Khanolkar, 24, and Kalpesh Parmar, 26 — had been harassing her for the past six months. Just two days before she was kidnapped, some passersby and locals had seen the duo assaulting her and had chased them away, after which they had taken her to Borivli police station.

The police let them off after filing a non-cognisable, bailable offence against them. “The accusations of the complainant came under non-cognisable offence so we lodged a non-cognisable complaint. We had warned Khanolkar,” said Bhagwan Chate, senior police inspector, Borivli police station.

However, the police did have the option of charging the two accused, who have a notorious reputation in Charkop, under stringent non-bailable sections such as criminal conspiracy and common intent.

Sources said Khanolkar, a Class 12 dropout, stays with his paternal uncle, while his parents live in their hometown in Konkan. He is unemployed and is nuisance to local residents. He has been involved in many petty crimes.

The incident reflects what’s lacking when it comes to ensuring the security of women in the city: The right attitude.

The victim was traced only after her uncle approached the crime branch, which ultimately traced the kidnappers through one of their mobile phone records – something that even the Borivli police could have done. Chate said: We are yet to ascertain whether the victim has been raped and are waiting for the medical reports.”

Mahesh Patil, deputy commissioner of police, under whose jurisdiction Borivli police station falls, was not available for comment.

Ramrao Pawar, additional commissioner of police (north region), said: “We took whatever action we could take on the basis of the non-cognisable complaint. We strictly warned the two men to stay away from the girl, which they had accepted to. There is nothing more that the police can do. It was not a First Information Report on the basis of which we could arrest them.”