Tailor arrested from Telangana for rape, abduction of Jogeshwari girl

A month after a six-year-old girl was allegedly raped by an unknown person when she was out with her parents for Iftar shopping in Jogeshwari, the Meghwadi police have arrested a 34-year-old man from Khammam district in Telangana in connection with the crime.

The accused, Srinivasan S, who used to work as a tailor in the same locality had spotted the girl with her parents in the market area in the evening of July 5. When her parents were busy shopping, he kidnapped her and allegedly sexually assaulted her, said the police. The girl was found on Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road the next morning.

The Meghwadi police station in Andheri registered a case of kidnapping and rape and formed several teams to nab the accused. "We first questioned many residents from the area. Then we collected information about those who went missing after the incident. Srinivasan, who worked as a tailor in the vicinity, had left the area. We traced him to Khammam," said Santosh Bhandare, senior inspector of Meghwadi police station.

Bhandare said Srinivasan was arrested five days ago.

He added that a medical examination was done on the accused, which confirmed that he had sexually assaulted the minor. According to the police, the accused does not have any criminal past. He has been arrested for rape, kidnapping and under relevant sections under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, the punishment for which ranges from seven years to life imprisonment.