Child rapist who escaped arrested again in Vile Parle

Mumbai: A 23-year-old techie, who is accused of raping and murdering a seven-year-old in February and also of bludgeoning his mother to death in Chennai, was re-arrested by the Vile Parle police on Friday.

He was nabbed after he managed to escape from the clutches of the Chennai police who had come to the city to arrest him. The accused, identified as Daswant, was arrested from Vile Parle after he had checked into Hotel Satellite two days ago.

Police sources said that acting on a tip-off that Daswant was roaming free on the streets of Mumbai, police officers from Chennai flew down to Mumbai and arrested him from Hotel Sattelite in Vile Parle, but as they were to board him on the plane, Daswant managed to escape again.

A day after his second attempt to run failed, he was re-arrested by Vile Parle police near Andheri on Friday.

Daswant was charged with raping and killing a seven-year-old girl who was his neighbour last February in Mugaliwakkam.

He kept her body in his house for a day, and later he disposed it under a bridge, setting it ablaze. Two days after the incident, Daswant was arrested and lodged in a Chennai jail.

However, the Madras High Court revoked his detention under the Goondas act and granted him parole. While his trial in the rape and murder case was to start on December 5, three days before that, on December 2 he allegedly murdered his mother Sarala at their home in Kundrathur.

Anil Kumbhare, deputy commissioner of Police Zone 8, confirmed the incident and said, “The accused has been handed over to the Chennai police and will be flown to the city soon.”