Mumbai Crime: Braveheart saves woman from drug-addict rapist

Khalique Siddiqui (30) points to the bushes where the teen drug addict had dragged the 23-year-old housewife and tried to rape her. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Average Joe Khalique Siddiqui (30) had no idea that in a few hours he was going to be hailed as a hero. But that's what happened yesterday, when he came across a youth trying to rape a woman, and, without thinking about his own safety, jumped in to save her.

Siddiqui also managed to get the 19-year-old, a drug addict, arrested.

How it unfolded
It happened when the Malwani resident, who lives with her husband and works as a maid in the vicinity in Malad, was on her way home.

Around 4 pm, she was crossing the Malad-Malwani bridge, which though in a dilapidated condition is still used by pedestrians. The accused, who was hiding behind the mangroves, came out and dragged her in. During the scuffle, she managed to free her mouth and started screaming. Siddiqui, who was passing by, heard them.

Also Read: Pune Infosys rape survivor: Instead of saving me, he filmed my rape

"God sent him as an angel for me… he saved my life. I can't thank God and him enough," said the victim.

Superhero Siddiqui
The footwear salesman at a shop in Infinity mall, Malad west, who too lives in Malwani with his parents and siblings, wasted no time in deciding to help.

"I asked a pedestrian to come and help me, but he said ‘Leave it. Why do you want to put your life in danger?' But I thought to myself, ‘What if this were my sister?'" he said.

Narrating how it happened, Siddiqui said he was on his way home and was crossing the bridge, what's also called as kachcha rasta, when he heard the woman's screams. After the pedestrian refused to help him, he stopped another woman passing by and asked her to bring reinforcements while he went in to help the person in trouble.

"I went 20-25 meters inside the mangroves and saw that the youth had pinned the woman down with her scarf around her throat. I began shouting and ran towards him with a stick. He panicked seeing me come at him and ran away, further into the bushes," he added.

All's well
Siddiqui said the woman he had told to bring reinforcements had arrived by then with a few people, who helped him look for the accused and catch him. The victim narrated the story to the people, who handed him to the police. The victim, though scared initially, lodged a complaint after her relatives and neighbours arrived at Malwani police station.

The police have registered a case under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 506(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code against Ganesh Bhagwan Shejwal. He was produced before a court, which sent him to police custody.