Man who abducted Deepak Tijori's daughter and raped a schoolgirl was wearing distinctive chappals spotted by both victims
Man who abducted Deepak Tijori's daughter and raped a schoolgirl was wearing distinctive chappals spotted by both victims
There was nothing extraordinary about the black chappals (pictured) except that the strap was curved. Yet, it was this seemingly insignificant detail, that finally did a serial rapist and kidnapper in.
Malad resident Pritesh Doshi (26) is involved in the abduction of actor and producer Deepak Tijori's daughter, Samara, and the rape of a Charkop schoolgirl in Madh Island on Tuesday. He was arrested for the rape the same day.
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Crime Branch officers Sanjeev Bhole and Bhushan Belnekar, who are investigating both the cases, were escorting Doshi from court, when they noticed that he was wearing a pair of black sandals that had "an unusual curve", just as Samara had mentioned. They realised that the rapeu00a0 victim had given a similar description!
It was a pair of fancy sandals that finally gave away the pervert who had kidnapped actor and producer Deepak Tijori's daughter Samara. He was the same man whou00a0 kidnapped a schoolgirl from Charkop on Tuesday afternoon and raped her.
Pritesh Doshi (26), an US-returned Malad resident, was first arrested for Tuesday's crime from his home. His involvement in the Tijori case came to light last afternoon when he was being escorted back from the court.
That is when Crime Branch officers Sanjeev Bhole and Bhushan Belnekar, who are investigating both the cases, noticed that Doshi was wearing a pair of black sandals that had "an unusual curve", just as Samara had mentioned. They realised that Tuesday's victim had also given a similar description.
Other similarities
Bhole and Belnekar, who had questioned the victims in both the cases, then realised that there were other similarities between the descriptions provided by the girls. Both of them had mentioned that the abductor spoke immaculate English with a foreign accent.
And when Samara identified Doshi as her abductor, the missing link fell into place.
Explaining Doshi's modus operandi, the police said he usually accosted a girl and impressed her with his gift of the gab. He would coax the gullible victim into revealing details about previous boyfriends. Armed with this information, he would blackmail the victim into keeping quiet.
The police have also learnt that Doshi had returned to the city earlier this year after a stint in the US. He took to snatching gold chains in and around Malvani and ended up being named in 26 cases in just a few months.
"We now suspect that Doshi could be involved in a series of rapes," said a source.
Same excuses
Doshi made his case worse by using the same excuse in both cases. When arrested, he tried to convince the Charkop police that he had taken the school girl to a shady lodge at Madh Island on three occasions and had sex with her consent. He also claimed that they would meet regularly at a nearby fast food restaurant.
The girl, however, denied this. She said Doshi took her by surprise by claiming that her father had sent him and then abducted her.
Investigations at the hotel contradicted Doshi's statements. The owner revealed that he had seen Doshi with the victim for the first time on Tuesday.
"There were several inconsistencies in Doshi's story," said Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Rakesh Maria.
Doshi tried to convince the officers that he was having an affair with her. But a check of telephone records revealed there were no calls made from either party, thus, dispelling the love theory.
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