Mumbai: Paedophile targeted children on Thursdays, at 2-month intervals

Rehan Ansari

The Navi Mumbai police team, which was investigating the case of the serial molester, had come across a striking pattern in his modus operandi. He would mainly operate on Thursdays and at intervals of one-and-a-half to two months. The accused was wanted in at least 16 cases of rape and molestation of minors since 2016.

The accused was on the radar of the Navi Mumbai and Nalasopara police for cases registered in their jurisdiction. Here is the pattern that the team discovered:

Molester's profile
Age: 24-28 years
Place of offence: Navi Mumbai. Recently, Nalasopara
Crime record: Raped nine minors,molested seven minors
Communicates in: Marathi and Hindi

Details of the cases
As per records, the first case against the suspect was registered in October 2016, when a 10-year-old girl was raped in Vashi. Thereafter, since April 2017, with no cops on his trail, the accused has raped and molested around 14 girls till date. Based on the footage recovered from a couple of cases, only a year-and-a-half later did the Navi Mumbai police come to the conclusion that it was the same suspect involved in all the cases.

Modus operandi
Investigations revealed that the accused either approached the victim or the family members acting as messenger on various pretexts. In some of the cases, the accused had told the victims that their father had called them to pick up a parcel, a grocery item or cooking cylinder from the auto standing nearby. The accused then lured the victims to secluded places such as empty or under-construction buildings. While chatting with the victim, he then informed them that there was a poisonous insect on their clothes and forced them to undress. In some cases, he forcibly took off the victim's clothes after threatening them.

Trouble on Thursday
According to the Navi Mumbai police, most cases registered against the suspect had taken place on Thursday. The police said that they came upon this fact when they compiled the list of 16 cases. As per records, around six cases had taken place on Thursday and two or three cases on other days of the week. "With this pattern, it is evident that if he was working somewhere, his weekly off may have been Thursday," an officer close to the investigations said.

Struck every two months
Police records also indicate that the suspect acted after a gap of one-and-a-half to two months. The recent case happened after two months. Cops said it was possible that there were several incidents that had not reached the police stations.

Keeps changing his look
As per footage from nine CCTV cameras collected by the police, the cameras captured a clear view in just four cases. The images indicate that he kept changing his hairstyle and beard constantly. In some footage, the cops found the accused with a French beard while in some he was clean shaven. He kept experimenting with his hairstyles, too. Police said this could be totally out of fear of avoid being identified by the cops.

Also Read: How Cops Nailed Paedophile Who Terrorised Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, And Thane

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