Pune Police Arrest Suspect in Molestation of Mentally Challenged Minor Within 15 Hours
Hadapsar, 8th June 2024: The accused who molested a mentally challenged minor girl has been swiftly arrested by the Pune Police within 12 hours. This incident occurred when the girl was en route to her grandmother’s house, when an assailant halted her, physically assaulted her, and took her to his residence where the molestation took place. This incident happened on Thursday (6th June) at approximately 7:30 PM in Hadapsar.
Upon receiving a complaint from the victim girl’s mother, the Hadapsar Police took prompt action and arrested Jose, also known as Jeevan Malil Thomas, a 47-year-old resident of Hadapsar. Charges have been pressed against him under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354(A) (punishment for sexual harassment), and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), in addition to appropriate sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
According to police reports, a mentally challenged minor girl was on her way to her grandmother’s house when she was intercepted by an assailant. The assailant slapped her on her cheek, took her to his home, and molested her with bad intentions. The mother of the minor victim immediately rushed to Hadapsar Police Station.
Recognizing the severity of the situation, Hadapsar Police acted on orders from their superiors. They obtained CCTV footage and identified the perpetrator. The Detection Branch (DB) of Hadapsar Police Station received information from a reliable source that the assailant was located in Gondhale Nagar of Hadapsar. The police quickly went to the location and arrested him. During interrogation, the accused confessed to his crime. It was discovered that the accused was not a native of the area and had no permanent place of residence. He would sleep under vehicles or trees at his various work locations.
The ongoing investigation is being conducted by Police Sub Inspector Digambar Sontakke of Hadapsar Police Station.
This operation was carried out under the guidance of Pune City Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police Praveen Pawar, Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Patil, and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 5) R Raja. The DB was led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Hadapsar Division) Ashwini Rakh, Senior Police Inspector Santosh Pandhare, Police Inspector (Crime) Mangal Mondhawe, and Police Inspector (Crime) Umesh Gite. The team also included Assistant Police Inspector Arjun Kudale, Police Sub Inspector Mahesh Kawale, Police Constables Ajit Madane, Ramdas Jadhav, Sushil Lonkar, Sandeep Rathod, Sameer Pandule, Sachin Jadhav, Jyotiba Pawar, Prashant Dudhal, Nikhil Pawar, Prashant Tonape, Sachin Gorakhe, Bhagwan Hambarde, Anirudha Sonawane, Amol Danake, Chandrakant Rejitwad
