Mumbai Crime: Laundryman who molested five school girls, convicted

Rakesh Kumar

The Mumbai Police's much talked about Police Didi initiative that was started in 2016 to reduce sexual harassment cases against children got its first conviction on Wednesday. The Dindoshi Sessions court sent 30-year-old laundryman Rakesh Kumar, alias, KK Bhaiyya, alias Santosh Ramkhilavan Kanojia, a serial molester, to seven years in prison. Rakesh Kumar was found guilty of molesting five minor girls who had informed the police during the Police Didi campaign at a school in July 2016.

After the good touch and bad touch sessions by the team, five minor girls of Std IV told their principal about the sexual harassment by the accused every time they went to fetch ironed clothes from him. The DN Nagar police were informed and they arrested Rakesh Kumar from his residence in DN Nagar.

The girls said he had been harassing them for a year before they found the courage to tell their principal. The girls never told their families as the accused threatened them. Sr PI of DN Nagar police station Parmeshwar Ganme said, "Rakesh Kumar has also been fined Rs 50,000. We had made a watertight case against the accused and ensured the victims spoke before the court without any fear."

Maharashtra DGP Datta Padsalgikar who started the Police Didi campaign in 2016 said, "There were a lot of complaints about sexual harassment cases against children, which is why we started this project. This is a huge success for the Mumbai Police and the team of officers working on it. I congratulate our team for their first conviction."

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