Mumbai gang-rape accused may be repeat offenders

The five accused arrested in the gang-rape of a photo-journalist could be involved in a similar sex-crime in July, police said.

Mumbai: The five accused arrested in the gang-rape of a photo-journalist could be involved in a similar sex-crime in July, police said Tuesday.

A 19-year-old girl working in a call centre has stepped forward to claim that she was similarly gang-raped by some of the accused in the Shakti Mills complex July 31.

The woman contended that she recognized the assailants from the sketches released by police after the assault on the 22-year-old photo-journalist and the assault on her male colleague Aug 22.

The victim said she had gone to the desolate Shakti Mills compound along with a male friend July 31.

They were accosted by the same five now in custody and they employed the same modus operandi to trap them, the complaint said.

She said the accused raped her and she recognized them after their sketches were flashed in the media.

A senior police official told the media Tuesday that the five accused of gang-raping the photo-journalist have confessed to committing similar crimes.

Their victims included a woman rag-picker and a commercial sex-worker.

The official said the new complaint would also be thoroughly investigated.

The five accused in police custody are Salim Ansari, Vijay Jadhav, Mohammed Kasim Shaikh alias Kasim Bengali, Siraj Khan and a minor. All of them have been charged with various offences.

Their police custody is expected to end Sep 5.

IANS

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