Drinking bout with informer leads to arrest of gang-rape accused after 22 years

Mumbai: A Nalasopara resident accused of gangrape managed to evade the law by living under a false identity for 22 long years till a drinking session with a police informer proved to be his undoing. He told the informer about the case against him about a month ago and was arrested on Friday, after which he confessed to his crime. Police are now on the lookout for the fourth accused in the case, who is still absconding.

According to the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) crime branch, the case dates back to 2002, when the victim, a 24-year-old woman, was kidnapped by four men while she was walking back to her house from work. The men allegedly forced her into an auto rickshaw, took her to an isolated place and raped her, taking turns. She then complained to the police, who registered a case of gangrape and arrested two of the four accused – Nalasopara residents Raju Rathod and Dheeraj Giri – three days later based on the description provided by her.

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While the two remaining accused – identified only by their first names, Micheal and Shankar – were subsequently declared absconding, the two arrested accused were sent to judicial custody after the police filed a chargesheet.

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Meanwhile, Michael, who lives in Nalasopara, changed his name to Vinod Kumar Pandey and began driving an auto rickshaw. “About a month ago, when he was drinking with the informer, he happened to disclose his crime. The informer then tipped off the officers investigating ‘cold’ cases,” said a crime branch officer.

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Since the police did not have Michael’s address, they maintained a vigil in the area, waiting to spot him. “On Friday, we spotted him near Nalasopara station, trying to pick up passengers. So we intercepted and arrested him,” said the officer.

The accused confessed to being part of the gang rape during interrogation and police in now trying to trace and arrest the fourth accused, Shankar, said police.