Ravi alias Psycho Ravi alias Janardhanachari alias Babu, a resident of Rampur village in Hoskote taluk, had “abducted” children from Bangalore, Kolar, Hindupur and Hosur, police said.
“Preliminary investigation has revealed that Ravi had also sexually assaulted a minor girl he had abducted recently. We believe he would have sexually abused many more girls and abducted several others,” Commissioner of City Police, Raghavendra Auradkar, told reporters here on Tuesday. The investigation would be more focused. A special team has been formed for the purpose, he added.
Investigators said Ravi targeted schoolgirls wearing gold jewellery and aged between five and 11 years. He would approach them, claiming to be a close friend of their parents and would offer them some gifts, among other things, investigators said. The suspect would take his victims to desolate places on the pretext of enquiring them about their address, they added.
Then he would scare the victims into removing their valuables, saying there were dacoits in the area and jewellery should be kept safely. He would then drop the victims near their houses before vanishing, investigators explained.
Sometimes, the suspect would take his victims to lodges and confine them there for a few days. He would either sell the jewellery or pledge them.
Explaining the arrest, Auradkar said two teams were formed in the wake of an increase in abduction of minor girls. “We sought information from a few lodge owners about suspicious persons seeking accommodation. A team of Madiwala police then received a tip-off about a man taking a minor girl with him. The police party rushed there and arrested the suspect,” he added.
The police chief urged parents to be cautious about sending their wards outside.
“They should ask their wards not to entertain unknown individual approaching them or seeking information about their parents or addresses,” he added.
Auradkar announced cash prize for the team members who arrested the suspect. Madivala sub-division ACP Balaji Singh will head the investigation team.
'He had a smartphone but no SIM card'
In their high-speed pursuit of the suspected serial abductor Ravi, police were intrigued by the question of whether he used a mobile phone.
Sleuths found it difficult to track him down as no phone number was registered in his name and he did not use any. According to a police officer, Ravi had left his village eight years ago. His family members or villagers provided little help in tracing him.
Police were, however, intrigued by the account of many girls whom Ravi had allegedly abducted and abandoned later. The victims said the suspect lured them by introducing himself as a close relative of their parents. He would even “call” their parents from his mobile phone and tell them he would bring their daughters home soon.
Basic policing
Police were on a wild-goose chase to find Ravi's mobile number so as to track him down easily, but to no avail. Finally it was basic policing which helped them.
Ravi did have a Samsung Galaxy mobile handset, but did not have a SIM card at all, as he believed police would easily trace him. During interrogation, he said he used the handset to dupe the girls.
He allegedly took many precautions to avoid being caught. He would go to the police station of the area from where he would have abducted a girl, and introduce himself as the writer at a neighbouring police station.?He would enquire if the abduction of a minor girl had been reported. “He would ascertain if police were looking out for him,” DCP?(South East),?T?D?Pawar, said.
A 12-year-old girl, whom Ravi had allegedly abducted from Madiwala on August 20, provided the crucial information which finally led to his arrest. The girl returned home after two days when the suspect gave her Rs 100 and sent her off in a bus from Hosur.
Police sources said the girl had read the signboards and was convinced she was taken to Hosur, although the suspect tried to mislead her that they were in Hindupur. She, however, could not identify the lodge and only remembered it was near the bus stand.
A special police team then asked the managers and room boys of all lodges in Hosur to keep a watch. Thus, came the tip-off that Ravi stayed at a lodge. Police then acted swiftly and arrested him.
Ravi, who was presented before the media, said he used to target young girls from affluent families. “I would visit schools, temples, marriage halls and markets looking for well-dressed children who were alone or with their peers. I would lure them into believing I was their parents' close relative, rob them at desolate places and then abandon them near their houses,” he told reporters.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order),?Kamal?Pant, said the suspect's custody would be sought from the court.
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