POCSO accused held after 2-week search in 3 states
Man arrested for stalking and molesting a 13-year-old girl in Kandivali west after a two-week search across three states; to be produced in court on Tuesday.
MUMBAI: The Charkop police on Monday arrested a 30-year-old man for allegedly stalking and molesting a 13-year-old girl in Kandivali west, bringing a two-week-long search for the accused across three states to an end. The accused, identified as Dheerajkumar Krishna Jha, was arrested from Ahmedabad in Gujarat with the help of the Sardarpur police and brought to the Mumbai. He will be produced in court on Tuesday.
According to the police, a Kandivali west resident approached them two weeks ago, complaining that a man from their neighbourhood had been stalking and harassing her teenaged daughter. He had also assaulted and groped the girl when she was on her way to tuition classes, she told the police.
Based on the woman’s complaint, the police registered a case of molestation and sexual assault against the unidentified accused under sections 354 (D) and 355 of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Act 2012.
The police scanned CCTV recordings of the area and found footage of the accused. They then asked around the locality and ascertained his identity with his neighbours and relatives. Jha, they learnt, was a native of Mohanpur village in Shivhaar district of Bihar; he had worked in Rajasthan before moving to Mumbai.
A team of officers was sent to Mohanpur to Jha’s house. But when he was not found there, another team was sent to search for him in Rajasthan. There, the police found that Jha had fled to Ahmedabad, where he had a few friends.
The Chaprkop police nabbed Jha on Monday morning with the help of Sardarpur police and brought him to Mumbai. He was formally placed under arrest and will be produced in court on Tuesday.
“The accused has been arrested and we are trying to find out if he had harassed and molested any other girls in the locality,” said Jyoti Bhople, senior police inspector of Charkop police station.