Navi Mumbai: The Crime Branch Unit 3 of the of Navi Mumbai police arrested a 38-year-old dismissed police constable for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old student who had gone for a stroll in Nerul along with her friends last month. The suspect was arrested from Andheri on Jan 6 after police went through CCTV footage of more than 50 places.
On Dec 14, the Nerul police registered a case against an unidentified person after the minor girl approached them. According to the girl, she had gone for a stroll near Balaji temple hill in Nerul with her friends when the man assaulted her friends and later assaulted her sexually. The man also threatened her by impersonating a policeman.
Additional Police Commissioner Mahesh Ghurye said that the crime branch carried out a parallel investigation and checked CCTV footage of over 50 places. They finally arrested Santosh Sarjerao Narwade. “The suspect was a constable attached to Taloja police station. However, he was dismissed from the police force in 2017 as a disciplinary action for his involvement in extortion,” said Mr Ghurye. He added that a case was registered against him at NRI Coastal police in 2014 for abduction and extortion. “Today, he is a common citizen and has no connection with the police department,” he said.
According to the police, Narwade used to extort money from couples in secluded places by threatening police action. “Narwade was not carrying his mobile phone to prevent the chance of tracking post the crime,” said the official. He added that the police investigated 10-15 people who had in the past committed crimes impersonating police personnel. Finally, they zeroed in on Narwade and arrested him from Andheri on Jan 6. “We have got extended police custody of Narwade till Jan 16 and will get more details,” said Mr Ghurye.
