With just vehicle and clothing description from woman to go on, Colaba police scan mounds of CCTV footage to nail accused; defence says youth falsely implicated based on suspicion
The CCTV grab of a youth on a Pulsar bike in the area where the crime occurred that led to the arrest of Colaba resident Luv Kule (below)
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A 19-year-old South Mumbai resident has been arrested by the police for allegedly molesting a woman near a hotel at Marine Drive. The accused, who was arrested on Saturday, was identified as Luv Kule, a resident of Colaba.
According to the Colaba police, on May 15 around 10 pm, the woman was returning to her hotel from a walk on the Marine Drive promenade, when an unknown biker approached her from behind and molested her. She turned and even tried to chase him, but he sped away. She reported the incident to the Colaba police, and they filed an FIR against an unknown person under section 354 (outraging modesty) of the Indian Penal Code.
Scanning CCTV footage
The police started scanning CCTV footage from the locality where the incident took place. Though the woman hadn't been able to see the accused's face clearly, she had seen his bike — a red Pulsar — and clothes — a blue and black shirt.
After scanning several CCTV frames, the police found a person who was seen riding a bike near the locality where the crime had occurred. Officers went to several chawls in Colaba, as they believed the accused to be a local, and showed the CCTV grabs to more than 30 people. They finally met a person who seemed to recognise
the suspect.
'Confessed to crime'
The police asked him to set up a meeting with the suspect at Cusrow Baug in Colaba. After the suspect arrived at the spot, the police immediately detained him, and during the course of interrogation, he confessed to the crime. The police also seized his bike.
An officer said, "We produced him in holiday court, which sent him to police custody. Now, we are checking if he has a record of such crimes in other police stations."
Advocate Sunil Pandey, who is representing the accused, said in court that he was falsely implicated only on the basis of suspicion. He said, "The CCTV footage procured by police is not clear. The complainant has not recognised the accused, as she had not seen him properly since the incident took place at night."
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