How an alert Mumbai police constable helped catch a ‘dead’ rape accused

Head Constable Nitesh Talekar found something amiss in the death certificate of a rape accused and after a three-month search, traced the accused to Uttar Pradesh, leading to his conviction.

An alert policeman present in the courtroom closely examined the certificate and declared before the court that he would bring Vishwakarma back. (Representational image)

In 2018, a death certificate of 31-year-old Vidyamani Vishwakarma was submitted before a special court in Mumbai. He was facing trial before the court for the rape of a minor and was out on bail when the ‘death’ occurred. An alert policeman present in the courtroom closely examined the certificate and declared before the court that he would bring Vishwakarma back. He told the court that he suspected that the death certificate was fake and sought time to verify it. The court permitted the verification.

For the next three months, a search for the ‘dead’ man began. Head Constable Nitesh Talekar of Worli police station, where the offence was registered, was the one who examined the death certificate in court. “I felt something was amiss on close examination of the certificate. It had all the signatures, it had all the government stamps. But, the stamps felt like they had all been made at one place. Unlike official seals of different government offices which have their own sizes, the documents submitted by the accused’s brother were all uniform,” Talekar said.

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He sought permission from the senior police inspector of the Worli police in 2018, who in turn got the necessary clearances to permit travel to Uttar Pradesh, where the death certificate was issued from. Another constable from the police station, Taj Lonare, along with an independent panch witness, travelled to the accused’s address.

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At the village, Talekar first went to the sarpanch. The constable sought his help stating that since the document was submitted before the court in Mumbai, he may have to appear before it for verification. The sarpanch told the constable that he had not issued the certificate. He then guided the constable to the home of the accused where the ‘dead’ man’s wife, children and brother resided. They first insisted that the man had died but on further questioning, they said that he was out for work in another district. The constable then told the man’s brother to call him on his phone. The man answered. Talekar’s doubt about the certificate being fake was confirmed.

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Following this, Talekar coordinated with the man’s brother and brought Vishwakarma to Mumbai. He was produced before the court and re-arrested. Vishwakarma told the court that he had faked his death based on advice given by a lawyer. He then remained in custody and faced trial on the rape charge.

In February 2021, Vishwakarma was found guilty under several charges, including those related to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and was sentenced to seven years in jail. He lived in the same neighbourhood as the three-year-old victim, had taken her home while she was playing outside and sexually abused her, the court found.

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