Mumbai: Remorseless paedophile sits stone-faced after arrest

Rehan Qureshi was produced in a special POCSO court on Friday evening. Pic/Sameer Markande

A week after 15 cases were filed against him and a day after he was finally caught for them, alleged paedophile rapist Rehan Qureshi showed no sign of remorse, according to the police. Qureshi, accused of raping and molesting 16 children, was held from Mira Road on Wednesday. Cops have seized his laptop to ascertain whether he took pictures of the children he targeted.

Upon being asked about Qureshi's psychological status, one of the investigating officers said, "During primary interrogation, Qureshi showed no signs of regret over the crimes committed by him. He is calm. Not very talkative. He knew what he was doing all these years." Qureshi is wanted in seven rape and molestation cases in Navi Mumbai, three in Palghar, two each in Thane Rural and Mumbai and one in Thane.

He will now be subjected to a psychological analysis. Navi Mumbai Commissioner of Police Sanjay Kumar said, "To make the cases water tight, we will be taking help of psychologists. We will do a psychological analysis of him as well."

Laptop seized
Qureshi was held from his home in Mira Road on Wednesday. Speaking about the arrest, inspector Shirish Pawar from the Anti-Extortion Cell said, "We reached his home in Woodland Complex, where he resided in a rented flat with his family. After a thorough search of his house, we seized his laptop, storage device and passport. Qureshi's passport had a Parel address, while all his other legal documents have different Kharghar addresses. His family is from Uttar Pradesh. We've seized the documents to verify all his details. We have also collected the clothes he has used while committing the crimes as per CCTV footage."

Explaining why they seized the laptop, Kumar, said, "A 14-year-old victim from Koparkhairane had mentioned Qureshi taking a picture of her after committing the crime. We suspect that he had a habit of either filming or storing images/videos of his crimes. The laptop and storage device will help us ascertain the same. A special investigation team has been formed to probe the case further."

In custody for 10 days
Meanwhile on Friday evening, Qureshi was produced in a special POCSO court in Thane, where public prosecutor Rekha Hirwale requested for a 14-day police custody, since the investigation spans three cities. Advocate Sunil Dikle, the defence counsel, opposed this. The magistrate ultimately sent Qureshi in police custody for 10 days, till October 6.

How he chose targets
During preliminary investigation, cops found out that Qureshi would zero down on a target by checking if they belonged to the lower strata of the society. Once he did this, he'd to keep an eye on the child for three hours. An officer said, "The CCTV footage we've gathered has shown he used to roam around house of the target for two to three hours. After making sure that the minor's father wasn't around, he'd to approach her claiming she has been called by her father to help pick up a cylinder or something else. Then, when he managed to take the child in a secluded place, he'd ask them to remove their clothes claiming there was an insect on them."

Also Read: Mumbai: Paedophile Who Raped Kids Remorseless, Family Devastated

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