Aarey rape: 'Child was bleeding, crying non-stop,' recalls constable

He may have the eternal gratitude of the parents for saving the life of the fiveyearold girl who was raped in the Aarey colony forest on Sunday but Constable Prakash Tukaram Warange says he will find some measure of peace only when the accused auto driver is arrested and given the maximum punishmentConstable Warange says he gave chase to an auto that could have had the rapist in it but had to give up because of the rain and the bad condition of the road and because the girl needed medical attentionSpeaking exclusively to midday yesterday the constable who is attached to Crime Branch unit IX could not hold back his tears when he recounted how he had found the little girl alone in the rain on the Aarey Colony road bleeding shivering and crying out for her mothermiddayrsquos report yesterdayRecalling the events of Sunday Warange said ldquoI was returning from my inlawsrsquo house in Ghatkopar to my house in Goregaon around 11 pm when I saw a very small girl stumbling along the Aarey Colony road crying nonstop I was shocked and could not even understand what was happening initiallyrdquoFailed chaseWhen he stopped the girl and asked her what had happened the girl told Warange ldquoRickshaw uncle left me hererdquo Warange said ldquoThe girl was shaken It was raining that day and she was wet and shivering I noticed a rickshaw very far ahead and decided to give chaserdquoWarangersquos chase however proved unsuccessful due to the heavy rain and the poor condition of the road Also his priority was to save the little girl whose condition was deteriorating ldquoIt was completely dark I made the girl sit on the bike and started chasing the rickshaw but the driver managed to escape I could not ride faster as it could have proved fatal for us given the darkness the bad condition of the road and the rainI stopped a few other autos and tried to identify the accused but it was of no use My priority was to ensure that the girl got medical help and hence I decided to give up I called the police control room for helprdquo said the constable The constable stopped at a restaurant to get the girl some water and something to eat and the restaurant owner gave her a white cloth to wrap around herselflsquoHorrible conditionrsquoWarange told midday that in his 21 years of service he had personally never come across a case like this He said he was shocked to find the crying shivering little girl stumbling along on the road Tears rolling down his cheeks Warange added ldquoThe girlrsquos condition was very badShe was inconsolable and was bleeding profusely from her private parts A team of police officials arrived and took her to Aarey police station and then she was rushed to Cooper Hospitalrdquo In the police station the girl told Warange ldquoMy mother had asked me to get milk I had bought the milk packet and was heading home when the rickshaw uncle forcefully dragged me inside his autoHe made me sit next to him initially but after I started crying and shouting loudly he forced me to sit in the passenger seat behindrdquo The girl could not not speak after that and collapsed at the police station Warange said ldquoIn my 21 years of service I have never come across such a situation I just want the accused to be arrested soon and given the maximum punishmentrdquoParents gratefulAt the hospital the girlrsquos parents met Warange and said ldquoYou came like a god to save our daughter We are very thankful to you and will never forget you as long as we liverdquo ldquoWarange did the best he could He did the right thing by not wasting time chasing the rapistThe girl was saved because he showed presence of mindrdquo said an official from Unit IX of the Crime Branch Doctors at KEM hospital where the girl was shifted later said yesterday that a surgery was performed on her on Monday and while it will take time for her to recover she is out of danger