40-year-old, who had posed as a Crime Branch officer and called woman to a Vashi mall and tried to rape her, has 15 cases of molestation registered against him across India
Ravi Verma (40) is a real estate agent and stays in Kharghar with his wife and 12-year-old son
The man who tried raping a Vile Parle housewife pretending to be a police officer, has been employing the same modus operandi to prey on unsuspecting women since 2001. Unit VIII of the actual Mumbai Crime Branch arrested him on Thursday and learnt this fact.
Also read: Fake cop tries to rape woman in Vashi mall
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Ravi Verma (40) is a real estate agent and stays in Kharghar with his wife and 12-year-old son
mid-day had reported on February 13 how the accused, Ravi Verma (40), had tried to rape the 35-year-old housewife. Verma had convinced her that her husband, who had left for Frankfurt, Germany, had been arrested in a sex scandal there and that she would have to have sex with him if she wanted to ‘save’ her husband.
mid-day’s report on February 13
It was only when a watchman suddenly showed up at the spot that he fled from the scene. Police arrested Verma on a tip-off. They said he has more than 15 such cases of molestation against him and has been arrested many a time.
Deepak Phatangare, senior police inspector, Crime Branch (Unit VIII), said, “The accused, a real estate agent, is a resident of Kharghar and stays with his wife and 12-year-old son.”
Police Inspector Sudhir Dalvi, from Unit VIII, added, “The previous crime he committed was in Delhi, wherein he had called a housewife and tried raping her on the same pretext inside the victim’s car.” This was last year.
Modus operandi
Cops said Verma would randomly dial landline numbers, saying he was a Crime Branch or CBI officer. “If any man or elderly woman answered the call, he would disconnect instantly,” said Dalvi, adding. “If a young woman answered, he would blackmail her on the pretext that her husband has been arrested.
Several women had even called his bluff, saying nothing had happened and her husband is at home.” Verma went to the extent of calling more than 40 numbers to get his target. Police will now use CCTV footage from the mall and the testimony of the watchman, who is a crucial eyewitness in the case.
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