Stalker held in Thane; cops file chargesheet within 24 hours of arrest

Police have arrested a man for allegedly stalking a 14-year-old girl in Maharashtra's Thane city and filed a chargesheet in the case within 24 hours of taking him into custody, officials said on Wednesday.

The incident took place on June 29 in Vartak Nagar area here.

The accused, identified as Dinesh Vivek Ghag (26), resident of Kisan Nagar here, was later apprehended from Kalyan town while he was trying to escape, senior police inspector Rajkumar Waghchaware said.

The girl was walking towards her home alone after her classes when a person (then unidentified) in a red car followed her for about 500 metres in Vartak Nagar, the official said quoting the complaint filed by the victim's mother.

The person asked the girl to get into the car, but as she went away, he left from there. Following the complaint, the Vartak Nagar police registered a case against the then unidentified person under sections 78 (1), 78 (2) (stalking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. After examining CCTV footage of the area, the police identified the car and found out its registration number.

Technical inputs pinpointed the accused's location to Kalyan, hence a police team immediately proceeded and apprehended him from a bar there while he was preparing to escape, the official said.

Following the arrest, the Vartak Nagar police recorded statements of both the minor girl and the complainant.

The police filed the chargesheet, supported by strong evidence, against the accused in a local court within 24 hours of his arrest, the official said.

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