Mumbai: Woman jumps out of moving auto in Andheri West to escape molesters

Main accused Aniket Mahavir Jaiswal is a resident of Kranti Nagar in Kandivli; (right) Suraj Kumar Dudhnath Rajbhar too lives in the same neighbourhood

Two autorickshaw drivers have been arrested for allegedly molesting a 35-year-old woman in a moving three-wheeler in Andheri West. The police said the survivor jumped off to save herself and sustained serious injuries. Working on the details provided by the complainant, the cops tracked down the alleged criminals.

An auto driver identified one of the accused from these sketches

The accused have been identified as Aniket Mahavir Jaiswal, 21, who lives at Bismilla Chawl in Kranti Nagar of Kandivali East and Suraj Kumar Dudhnath Rajbhar, 24, who too is a resident of the same neighbourhood.

The police said the woman was targeted on March 7 when she was waiting for an auto on the Western Express Highway to go to Malad. In her complaint, she said Jaiswal arrived around 12.45 pm with his auto and asked her where she wanted to go.

The woman saw another man in the auto and asked Jaiswal about him. The auto driver said his was a shared vehicle and the other person was also a passenger. He said the fare would be equally divided and she would have to pay only Rs 30 from Andheri to Malad.

Senior Inspector Vijay Velge of Andheri police station said, "During the ride, the accused turned the auto to the service road and the co-passenger started molesting the woman. She asked the driver to stop, but he continued driving. The woman managed to jump off the running auto, but hurt her head and a hand very badly."

The police registered a case after she approached them, and got the sketches of the accused made. She said one accused had "stylish" hair and his mobile phone had a brown cover. The complainant said the two were talking in Bhojpuri-mixed Hindi.

Investigating officer API Ganesh Pisal said they scanned CCTV footage of the area around the time of the alleged crime and found 50-60 autos had passed the spot in 30 minutes. They spoke to all the drivers and one of them identified Jaiswal. "He told us that he lives in Kandivli. The sketch helped us nab both the accused."

Sharing more details about the alleged crime, API Pisal added, "During questioning, we found that main accused Aniket was driving the auto, but after the Andheri flyover he stopped the vehicle and handed it over to the other accused and went back to the rear seat and molested the woman."

The police suspect the duo might have assaulted more women in this fashion. They said Jaiswal was earlier arrested by the Samta Nagar police for allegedly raping a minor girl and was slapped with a POCSO case.