• 15 Jan 2016
• Hindustan Times (Mumbai)
• HT Correspondent htmetro@hindustantimes.com
MUMBAI: Crimes against women — including rape, molestation, sexual harassment and kidnapping, among others — increased in Mumbai’s central region in 2015 from the previous year. The region includes areas such as Tardeo, Dharavi, Dadar, Mahim, Sion, Antop Hill and Wadala.
On April 21 last year, a 5-yearold girl from Wadala was kidnapped from near her house by an unidentified man, who took her to Antop Hill’s Sangam Nagar and allegedly raped her. The girl was kidnapped at 10.30 pm and found nearly two hours later. Nine days later, the police arrested a 32-year-old suspect who lived near the girl.
The same day, another 5-yearold was kidnapped from a grocery store at Antop Hill, allegedly by 26-year-old Mohammed Riyaz Ansari. Ansari allegedly offered her chocolates, which she refused. He then took her to a deserted stretch near her home and allegedly raped her before leaving her by the side of road. The police sifted through CCTV videos and found footage of a man talking to the child before carrying her away. Ansari was arrested soon after.
Then on April 25, a case of incestuous rape was unearthed. Police in Wadala arrested two brothers, aged 19 and 21, for allegedly raping their own sisters in Sion. Chillingly, their 53-year-old mother was apparently aware of her sons’ actions and even backed them.