One held for serial molestation by city crime branch

Mumbai, Jun 30 (UNI) Crime branch of the city police has nabbed a person, accused to be a serial molester, from Ghansoli in Navi Mumbai district near here.

Terming the case as a 'unique' one, Joint Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria, while speaking to mediapersons here today, said more than 100 girls were allegedly molested by the accused Ravi Bhupendra Verma (32).

Mr Maria said thirty four cases of molestation have been registered against him.

Maria said the accused used to call at residence of people in Mulund area and if a lady picked up the phone, he would identify himself as Senior Vigilance officer of MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited) A K Gupta. He used to tell the lady that MTNL had received a complaint that their landline telephone was being misused and somebody was making 'obscene' and vulgar calls, Mr Maria said.

Thereafter, he used to ask about the background of her family and call her to the MTNL office at Mittal Tower, Nariman Point for further inquiry and when the lady left, he would call up again at her residence and ask her daughter to come to the Airoli bridge for further questioning, threatening that otherwise her mother would be arrested, Mr Maria said.

As soon as the girl came down to Airoli bridge, he used to ask the girl to sit down in his car and click her photographs, using his mobile phone and then molest her, he said.

The accused then used to blackmail the girl using the photographs, so that she would not report the incident to her family, Mr Maria said.

However, one lady mustered courage and lodged a complaint against an unidentified person, who used to blackmail her. Police investigated further and the accused was arrested on June 28.

He was produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate, who remanded him to police custody till July five.

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