2010: The year crimes on minors sent shivers down Mumbai’s spine

This year, the city bore witness to several gruesome incidents in which minors were raped and murdered, leading to a public outcry that was widely covered by the media, highlighting the chilling fact that children in this city are far from safe. Here are some of them, which still remain unsolved despite massive pressure on the police.

Nehru Nagar nightmare
Of the many cases of child rape and murder registered this year, of the cases that continue to elude the police in spite of their best efforts and leads from the Forensic Science Laboratory, the Nehru Nagar cases have been the most high profile.

The first such one to light when the body of a five-year-old girl who had gone missing from near her residence, was found in the stairway of the eight-storey Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) in the Vatsala Tai Nagar locality in Kurla, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Nehru Nagar police station.

The body was found in a gunny bag, which was covered with blood stains of the victim. A subsequent medical examination revealed that she had been repeatedly raped and then strangulated.

Less than a month later, Nehru Nagar police were alerted that a nine-year-old girl from the Qureshi Nagar locality near Kurla station was missing. A search was launched by people from the locality and authorities too jumped into action. Police officials alerted the control room and an extensive search was carried out in Kurla and nearby areas.

The railway police were also involved and wireless alerts were sent throughout the city to look for the girl.

The biggest shock came the next day, when the body of the victim was found dumped on the terrace of the police quarters building, located right opposite the Nehru Nagar police station. This time too, the body was found stained in blood and a medical examination revealed that the victim had been raped and then strangulated to death.

Clueless chaos
Subsequently, the Nehru Nagar police picked up several people for questioning. A person identified as Mohammad Ajmeri was arrested on charges of raping and killing the minor but his DNA did not match with that found on the victim’s body. In the absence of any other strong evidence against Ajmeri, he was released on bail.
It was later discovered that the DNA found on the bodies of both the victims was the same, pointing to the fact that the same person had committed both these heinous rape and murders.

The third case of rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl took place under the jurisdiction of the same police station which created a sensitive situation in the locality. People accused the police of not being able to control law and order, and preventing such incidents from happening.

Eleven days later, the body of the third victim was found in a locked shanty in a decomposed state. Medical examination of the body revealed that she was repeatedly raped for two days and then killed.

In response to the public outrage, several hundreds of people were picked up for questioning by the police and a record number of DNA samples of around 800 people were taken. One of these samples matched with the DNA found on the body of the third victim and led to the arrest of nineteen-year-old youth Javed Shaikh who is currently in custody at the Arthur Road jail.

Stumped once more
However, the arrest did little to calm the minds of concerned parents across the city when once  again, a three-year-old boy went missing from his residence in Kajupada in Ghatkopar.

His body was found dumped in a cabin outside the Maharashtra Navnirman Vahtuk Sena (MNVS) office near Sunderbaug Industrial Estate in Kamani, around half a kilometre from the victim’s residence.

The victim’s throat had been slit using a sharp weapon. Local police and crime branch officials questioned more than a hundred people but the case remains unsolved till date. The motive behind the murder is still unclear but old injuries were found on the victim’s private parts which points out that the victim had been sexually abused prior to his murder.

A senior police officer said, “In the Nehru Nagar cases, the only evidence that the police have is the DNA samples. So a large number of suspects are being put through DNA tests so that the accused can be nabbed. The accused had used the same modus operandi in both the cases and we are working on a few other clues which will help us close in on the accused.”

Similarly in the Ghatkopar murder case, police have no evidence or clues about the accused but it is being suspected that someone known to the victim could be involved.

Apart from these high profile cases, several other incidents of rapes of minors were reported in the city this year. If numbers continue to rise, authorities will undoubtedly be held accountable, as the city has displayed an outward refusal to stand by and watch such horrors take place.