Solving Crime: How technology helped crack 2 autorickshaw gangrape cases in Chandigarh, set free an innocent

A man, among the three accused who were nabbed, was involved in both the cases. Autorickshaw driver Wasim Malik was wrongly arrested, solely based on the victim’s ‘identification.’

The three suspects, later awarded rigorous life imprisonment under rape charges in August 2018, were autorickshaw driver Mohammed Irfan and his associates Mohammed Garib and Kismat Ali. Irfan, along with another suspect Kamal Hassan, was involved in the rape of a call centre employee in December 2016.

“The November 2017 auto gang rape case compelled us to believe that the criminals who used to rape autorickshaw passengers were still at large. Then SSP (UT) Nilambri Vijay Jagdale mobilised almost all the SHOs in charge of independent investigation agencies, including Crime Branch, Operations Cell, and Vigilance, to crack this case. There are very few instances when the entire police force is mobilised to solve one particular case, and the autorickshaw gangrape case was one of them,” shared SHO PS 36, Inspector Om Parkash, who was in charge of Sector 61 police post at that time.

The officer said the police had a blurred, unclear footage of a suspected autorickshaw, but reading its registration number was impossible.

“I contacted a private forensic expert, Rajesh Rana, who advised us to procure the paid software ‘MotionDSP,’ worth $9,500 (Rs 7.03 lakh). The software worked, extracting a clear image from the DVR of CCTV cameras installed at the Sector 42 fuel station, where the accused autorickshaw driver Irfan had filled fuel,” he said.

He added the software clarified most aspects of the number plate – three digits along with an alphabet of temporary registration numbers were visible in the extracted footage.

“The temporary registration number was CH-78T-2740. The software helped us obtain a clear image of digits 7, T, 2, and 4, among the last four numbers. The CH was evident in the rough footage of CCTV cameras as well. Digits 7, T, 2, and 4 were blurred in the footage, and other digits and alphabets were covered under the hands of the accused. We identified the automobile agency that sold autorickshaws bearing CH 7 temporary numbers in the market,” Om Parkash said.

The specific vehicle was sold in September 2016, and the police shortlisted 380 autorickshaws out of around 6,000 plying on Chandigarh roads. The automobile company sold an average of 100 three-wheelers every month. “With the help of the last two digits, 2 and 4, we narrowed it down to at least 27 autorickshaws, including the one used by Mohammed Irfan,” he said.

Indeed, the software assisted in retrieving clear three digits of the registration number of the suspected autorickshaw. The real breakthrough came when constable Pawan Kumar, part of another police team led by the then Station House Officer of Sector 49 police station, Inspector Ranjodh Singh, received information about Irfan Mohammed, who was arrested on November 24, 2017.

“The intense questioning of hundreds of drivers during the course of investigation had built a pressure on the auto drivers. We knew that the information about the accused would come only from the autorickshaw drivers. And this was what exactly happened. The main accused, Irfan Mohammed, was residing in Zirakpur. Constable Pawan received a tipoff about him. A recce around the makeshift house of Irfan led to the recovery of an autorickshaw whose temporary registration number matched the numbers caught in the footage of CCTV cameras installed at Sector 42 fuel station”, a police officer requesting anonymity said.

The officer maintained, “It was heart breaking when Wasim Malik, who was discharged from the rape case, came to us at Sector 36 police station later. He was overwhelmed and tried to touch my foot but I stopped him. He was crying and thanked all of us who were the first to nab three actual criminals including Irfan involved in both the auto gang rape cases. The results of DNA samples of the suspects were matched with the swabs collected from the clothes of victims. In fact, Wasim Malik’s DNA samples did not match with the samples collected from the clothes of victim in December 2016 rape case.”

In the December 2016 rape case, the victim was raped in a secluded area behind Iron Market, Sector 29.

After languishing almost 15 months in the jail, Wasim Malik was released on bail in March 2018 and subsequently discharged from the case in July 2018 when the prosecution submitted in the court that no evidence beyond the mere identification by the victim was found against him. Later, the victim too had retracted from her earlier statement that she had identified him in the police custody. By then, Mohammed Irfan had reportedly confessed to his involvement in the two rape cases along with his associates.

Forensic and IT expert Rajesh Rana who had assisted Chandigarh Police to procure the software told The Indian Express, “The software was procured in 2017. Today there are many refined and upgraded softwares being used to retrieve erased/deleted data from digital devices. Merely procuring software does not work. It requires an expert mind to apply the software on the right things including unclear images etc.”

Mohammed Garib and Kismat Ali who were arrested along with Irfan for raping a PG girl in August 2017 were not involved in December 2016 rape case. Mohammed Irfan, Mohammed Garib and Kismat Ali were convicted in August 2018 in connection with gangrape with a PG girl in November 2017.

Irfan and Kamal Hassan were convicted for the December 2016 gangrape in August 2019. The convicts are still lodged in Model Burail Jail. Earlier, Irfan had tried to end life inside the jail in 2018.