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Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a 36-year-old taxi driver for molesting a nine-year-old girl in a moving taxi in the central suburbs of Mumbai. Police said the accused touched her inappropriately while taking her to school. The police managed to track him down by his car registration number.
According to the police, the incident took place between 12.10 noon and 12.25 noon on 30 June. The girl took a taxi from her home to her school. She was accompanied by her 61-year-old grandmother. “The girl was sitting in the front seat, while her grandmother sat in the back,” said one of the officers.
“The driver allegedly molested her throughout the trip, but her grandmother didn’t know about it until they got out of the car near her school,” the officer said.
Police said the traumatized nine-year-old began crying after getting out of the taxi. Later when her grandmother inquires about what happened, she reveals her plight.
The officer said, “The senior citizen even tried to find and arrest the taxi driver, but he ran away from the scene.”
The 61-year-old woman then informed her parents and other family members, after which she went to a police station in the central suburb and filed a complaint. A case has been registered under Sections 354 (Massizing Women) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 8 and 12 of the Child Sexual Offenses Protection Act 2012.
While the local police were investigating the matter, the crime branch officials launched a parallel investigation during which they checked the CCTV footage at the scene and confirmed the vehicle registration number.
“It was Santru Shing’s car. Based on the registration number, we started looking for the suspect. After that we recognized the owner of the taxi,” one of the detectives said, adding, “We were also told that he is a resident of Siddharth Colony in Worli.”
A team was sent but the owner moved out of there 2 years ago and no one knows his current address. The police managed to get his phone number and while checking his call data history, the officials learned that he lives in Myra Road.
Another team was sent and during the investigation it was found that he had two taxis and rented one of them to a person named Puneet Saha. An officer said, “We learned that he stayed at Mahatma Phool Nagar in Worli and after that a team was sent there but he was not present at his home.” But the police saw him sleeping in the taxi next door. He was arrested and taken for interrogation, during which he allegedly confessed to the crime. “The accused was later arrested and handed over to the concerned police station for further investigation,” an officer said.
Police said the accused appeared in court and was taken back into police custody.
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