Wary of rape,mob beats up man ‘trying to lure girl’

The arrest of the auto driver,Kamlesh Sharma,41,of Gurudatt Nagar,Kurla,sparked speculation that he could be the the elusive rapist,but the police said his features do not match the description of their suspect. Sharma has been charged with attempted kidnapping and molestation.

“Sharma was apprehended by a mob after he allegedly tried to lure a girl who was on her way to school from her home at Buddha Nagar in Kurla (West). He allegedly offered her money and asked her to accompany her to his home with the promise of sweets. Some people nearby found his behaviour suspicious,beat him up and brought him to the police station,” an officer with the Vinoba Bhave Nagar police station said.

But an officer supervising the probe said,“Prima facie,he does not appear to be the suspect we are looking for. He has a beard and certain other features do not match the description of the suspect.”

Maya Bhole of Kurla (West) said she had helped apprehend Sharma. “I saw this man talking to the child. He was kneeling near her,trying to touch her and offering her something. A few minutes earlier,I had seen him behave similarly with another girl,but she took his money and ran away. As we all were aware about the rapist,I raised an alarm and other residents apprehended him,” she said.

“When they asked him what he had been doing,he started abusing them and tried to break free. They then beat him up and dragged him to the police station.”

Sharma had allegedly offered Rs 20 to the first girl. The second girl’s father said,“Before leaving,my daughter had demanded Rs 5 from her mother to buy sweets,but my wife refused. At a distance,I saw this man with a goatee talking to my daughter. I got suspicious but by the time I reached there,the public had already started beating him”

Sharma stays alone at home,his pregnant wife having gone to Uttar Pradesh for delivery.