A 10-year-old girl from Govandi was kidnapped and allegedly molested on Sunday by a local man who works as a tailor in the neighbourhood. However, his plans were obstructed by a commuter who heard the girl’s cry for help and alerted the railway police at Currey Road railway station.
According to the police officials, the 26-year-old accused has been identified as Sayyed Ashraf Sayyed Ashfaq. The accused knew the father of the child and since even the victim knew him, he thought she would go with him easily.
Speaking to MiD DAY, the mother of the 10-year-old victim said, “I was in my house when my daughter was playing with her brothers in front of our house. They were playing cricket and the ball must have gone far and she chased it. That’s when she encountered Ashfaq who told my daughter that he would take her to Ranibaug.
She refused to go along and even protested but he pulled her with him and took her to the railway station.” Senior Police Inspector, Radhesham Agarwal from Shivaji Nagar police station said, “The girl was taken in an auto rickshaw from her residence to Govandi railway station. She shouted for help but nobody bothered and whenever she yelled for help the accused kept hitting her.”
The case was initially registered with Dadar GRP but later the case was transferred to Shivaji Nagar police station as the kidnapping occurred in that jurisdiction. Agarwal added, “A person named Sanjay Patil helped the girl get out of her misery. While the intention of molestation is clear as the victim claimed that the accused touched her private parts.”
Victim’s mother added, “As soon as I started looking for my daughter I got a call from Dadar GRP officials that she was with them.” According to her, the accused claimed that he was taking the girl to Ranibaug.
The accused has been booked under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent) and 363 (punishment for kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and has been remanded to police custody till Wednesday.
