BJP leader visits families of Kurla rape, murder victims

MUMBAI - Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gopinath Munde Tuesday visited the families of the three young schoolgirls who were raped and murdered in Kurla suburb of north-east Mumbai.

“He met the families of the three victims who were kidnapped, raped and murdered in the last five months,” a BJP state spokesperson told IANS.

“The matter is grave. People cannot continue to live in such paranoia. Gopinath Munde visited the families so that he can decide what steps can be taken to improve the situation,” the spokesperson added.

While Maharashtra Home Minister R.R. Patil, Minister of State for Home Ramesh Bagve, and leaders of various political parties have visited the grief-stricken families, top police officials have also visited the area to decide on a strategy to nab the elusive killer.

“As many as 27 police teams comprising local police, officers from neighbouring areas and Crime Branch personnel have been deputed to nab the killer,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Nisar Tamboli said.

All schools in the three kilometres radius of the area saw the presence of uniformed police officials guarding the premises.

Police have released the sketch of a suspect based on eyewitness accounts in Kurla.

“We see a pattern in the manner the murders have taken place,” Tamboli said.

The police, however, are reluctant to call him a serial killer.

Anxious and scared parents were seen accompanying their children to schools, and waiting outside the school after classes. Most parents preferred keeping their children indoors after school.

On Feb 9, the body of a missing five-year-old girl was found in a gunny bag in a building in Nehru Nagar. On March 7, a nine-year-old girl was found raped and murdered on the terrace of the police quarters opposite Nehru Nagar.

In the latest incident, another girl who went missing while playing near her house was found dead in a chawl at Vatsala Tai Nagar in Kurla last week.