Last three digits of car help Delhi cops track down ‘molester’

“He was arrested on Friday and produced before a Delhi court, which sent him to 14-day judicial custody,” a police officer said, adding that the accused had allegedly tried to molest the woman multiple times in the past.

Sources said the incident took place on April 17, when the woman was on her way to pick up her son from school. “Around 1.45 pm, she was passing through an isolated stretch in Safdarjung Lane when the accused drove by in a Honda City and grabbed her from behind. She shouted for help. Some boys who were playing cricket in a nearby park rushed to her aid,” sources said.

In her complaint to the police, the woman said the accused grew scared on seeing the boys and she managed to push him away. “The accused fled the spot. The woman made a PCR call and on the basis of her complaint, a case was registered under Section 354 (molestation) of the IPC at Tughlak Road police station,” sources said.

Police said several teams were formed, which scanned CCTV cameras of nearby localities. However, they did not get any leads.

The investigating officer (IO) then shared his phone number with the woman and her neighbours, asking them to inform him if they spot the car in the area again. “On Friday afternoon, two of the witnesses in the case were returning home when they saw the car parked in the same lane. They immediately called the IO, who rushed to the spot and apprehended the accused,” sources said.

Initially, the accused tried to mislead investigators. But after sustained interrogation, he said, “He told police that he would drive around the area in search of the woman,” police said.