Qureshi confirms site of 2 minors’ rape-murder

MUMBAI: It took weeks for the Navi Mumbai police to crack Rehan Qureshi, accused of multiple cases of child molestation, rape and murder. After being arrested on September 27, Qureshi would prove to be a challenge for the police who did their best to get a confession out of him. “He ate well, slept well, and remained in an upbeat mood, as if nothing was going to happen to him,” said an officer from Navi Mumbai crime branch. When Qureshi did not crack under interrogation, the police tried isolating him to lower his defences. “We even got permission from the court to not allow his family members to meet him anywhere, even during his court appearances.”

Qureshi, who has since been charged with 19 offences that targeted minor girls, remained seemingly unaffected. Meanwhile, Jagdish Kulkarni, senior inspector, Navi Mumbai crime branch, was investigating the 2010 rape and murder of two girls in Nehru Nagar. When Qureshi’s DNA samples matched those from the crime scenes, police knew they had found the culprit but required his confession.

Finally, Qureshi was taken to the police quarters in Nehru Nagar where he reportedly raped and killed one of the girls on the terrace. The jeep carrying Qureshi stopped near the spot and the officer asked if he remembered anything. Qureshi pointed to the spot with his finger and said, “Ek yahan pe, dusra aage [one here, the other ahead].”

DEBASISH PANIGRAHI