Navi Mumbai and Kurla child rapist is same guy, police confirms

The serial child rapist identified as Rehan Qureshi has abused more than 20 children around Navi Mumbai, Palghar and Thane region, in the last few years. The latest reports said that the paedophile has raped two minors in Nehru Nagar in 2010.

The residents of Kurla have been in shock following the series of murder and rape that had happened eight years earlier. The cases remained unsolved until a couple of days ago, when the DNA from one of the deceased victims matched with the samples taken from the child rapist Rehan Qureshi.

On Saturday, the DNA match came back for one of the cases — rape and consecutive murder of a nine-year-old girl child in Nehru Nagar on March 7, 2010. During the investigation, Qureshi confessed to not only this crime, but also to an earlier crime that he had committed in the same manner, in February 6, 2010.

Following the child rapist arrest last month, the Navi Mumbai police dug out all undetected cases from Mumbai and its surrounding areas. Last week, the Navi Mumbai police learnt that Qureshi had lived in Chunabhatti in 2010 and would visit Nehru Nagar often.

They immediately sent his DNA samples to the forensic lab in Kalina. Dr Krishna Kulkarni, FSL director told mid-day, “A week ago, the Navi Mumbai police sent samples for DNA test for the Nehru Nagar rape and murder cases from 2010. We sent the results on Saturday.”

DCP Tushar Doshi, Navi Mumbai police, confirmed saying, “He was involved in two rape and murder cases from Kurla. We have matched his DNA and it is positive in one of the cases.” As the news of his crimes spread and grabbed the nation’s attention, Qureshi started fearing being arrested and fled to Dubai.

Sanjay Mhaske, a resident of Sai Shraddha building, recalled the day he discovered the 6-year-old victim on the staircase told mid-day, “I heard a boy screaming, so I ran to the terrace staircase, but was paralysed by what I saw. There was a little girl, naked, her hand and legs were bound, and there was blood everywhere. I still get scared when I think of it.”

Also read: Mumbai: Police arrests serial child rapist from Mira Road