Can an accused be arrested only on the basis of his face matching with the photo captured on CCTV?
At a time when rape incidents are rising in the country the police have made a vital breakthrough by arresting the culprit responsible for the rape of 72 year old nun. The accused identified as Sikandar Shaikh alias Salim, was arrested from his friend’s residence in Nagpada in South Mumbai while another accused Gopal Sarkar, a resident of Habra in North 24 Parganas was arrested. Police is yet not sure whether Salim is the actual culprit or not. But they arrested him as his face closely resembles with one of the photos captured on the CCTV. How can the police arrest an accused only on the basis of his face resembling with that of the photo captured on CCTV without possessing fool proof evidence?
The second accused Gopal allegedly gave shelter to the gang that was suspected to be involved in Ranaghat rape of a nun and robbery.
“Gopal is orginally a Bangladeshi who was staying in Habra town since 2002,” Dilip Adak, DIG, COD, West Bengal said.
Speaking about the Sikhandar Shaikh arrest case, Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria said, “The West Bengal team had the lead, they shared the information with us and sought our assistance. The assistance was provided and Sikandar Shaikh was arrested from the Nagpada area and has been taken away by the Bengal team,” he said.”
CID claims that Salim told investigators he was present during the commission of the gangrape on Mar 13-14. They, however, refused to clarify Salim’s exact role in the crime. He was also described as a Bangladeshi immigrant, who settled in Mumbai.
In another case, the Central Bureau of Investigation officials, who are probing several cases of rape videos posted on a mobile messaging app on the order of the Supreme Court, arrested 45-year-old Sahu from his residence in Bhubaneswar.
“The CBI team came to Bhubaneswar on March 19. We extended all help to the team in identifying and nabbing the accused,” Bhubaneswar deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said.
Sahu was booked on charges of common intention, propagating obscene material and assault to woman with intent to outrage her modesty under provisions of Indian Penal Code, besides sections of the Information Technology Act relating to violation of privacy and publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.
In 2010, Sahu allegedly raped the 24-year-old woman working as a receptionist in his company, while an accomplice filmed the act. They later circulated the video clip on WhatsApp.
