Gujarat: Four-year-old boy helps Amreli cops nab his sister’s rapist

RAJKOT: A four-year-old boy helped Amreli police nab the alleged rapist of his three-year-old sister in Savarkundla town of Amreli district by giving exact description of the man, who was caught within hours of the crime on Friday.
Police arrested 35-year-old Raju Mangrolia, who had abducted girl at around 2am from her hut in the slums on the bank of Navli river and abandoned her after committing the crime in Jhinjhuda village bus stand, four kms away.A passer-by spotted the girl in an extremely injured condition and called a 108 EMRI ambulance.
Meanwhile, the survivor’s parents who had lodged her missing complaint came to know that she had been admitted to Savarkundla Civil Hospital. After the doctors confirmed that the survivor had been raped, her parents lodged a police complaint.
Amreli district superintendent of police (SP) Nirlipt Rai told TOI that they could nab Mangrolia solely because of the description given by her tender-aged brother who had woken up and seen the man pick up the girl.
Rai said they made the boy feel comfortable by offering him chocolates, ice cream and other food as the family was surviving on stale food for days together. “In the two hours that he spent with the police, the little boy got comfortable and gave us all the minute details such as colour of shirt, its pattern, colour of the trouser and mask that the accused had worn. He had also seen a rickshaw parked near their hut,” Rai said.
“We talked to him for nearly two hours during which he gave all the minute details including his beard and hair. This is the first time that such a young boy has helped us nab a criminal here,” he added.
Following the kid’s revelations, police rounded up several rickshaw drivers in the town with similar physical appearances. “By taking help of forensic experts, we found a rickshaw which had blood and semen stains inside. We called up the owner and finally Mangrolia was caught,” the SP added. Semen stains were also recovered from the accused’s undergarments, he said.
Premsukh Delu, assistant superintendent of police, Amreli, said four teams were formed to nab the accused. Mangrolia used to drive a rented autorickshaw which he had used for the crime.
Though she has suffered injuries in her private parts, the girl’s condition is said to be stable at a local government hospital. The family of the girl is so poor that police purchased footwear for the boy.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)