Would grope women, flee: Bhopal police checks 50 CCTV cameras to track down molester

Bhopal police surfed through 50 CCTV cameras to identify a 23-year-old bike-borne man accused of molesting young women on the streets of the Madhya Pradesh capital, and arrested him in 48 hours of launching an investigation following a complaint.According to police, the accused would allegedly approach women from behind, touch them inappropriately and flee before they could react. During the investigation, the accused confessed to his crimes.The cops examined footage from more than 50 CCTV cameras installed in and around the area to identify him and arrested him within 48 hours of the reported incident. He was subsequently sent to Central Jail.The latest incident took place on the night of November 4, 2026, near the gate of the old CM Rise School in the Gaurishankar Parisar area. A young woman was walking along the road at around 8 pm when a man on a motorcycle approached her from behind and allegedly touched her inappropriately.The woman immediately objected and raised an alarm. However, instead of stopping, the accused fled the spot while making lewd remarks. The sudden incident left the woman distressed, and although she could not identify the motorcycle-borne man immediately, she approached the Katara Hills police station and lodged a complaint.During the preliminary investigation, police learnt that the accused had allegedly been targeting other young women in the area in a similar manner.He would approach them on his motorcycle, engage in obscene acts and speed away, making it difficult for the victims to identify or apprehend him.Following the complaint, police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).Considering the seriousness of the complaint, a special team was constituted under the leadership of Station House Officer (SHO) Santosh Raghuvanshi to identify and arrest the accused.The police team began examining CCTV footage from residential colonies surrounding the crime scene and roads that the accused was likely to have taken while escaping. Investigators scrutinised recordings, tracking the movement of suspicious motorcycles and attempting to establish the accused's route.Alongside the CCTV exercise, police activated their informer network to gather information about the suspect. The combined efforts eventually provided investigators with crucial leads about the motorcycle-borne man.Acting on the CCTV footage and information received from informants, police apprehended a suspicious young man on the main road near Deendayal Park.Subsequent interrogation and verification established his identity, leading to his arrest within 48 hours of the incident.The arrested man has been identified as Abhishek Uike (23), a resident of Barrai village in the Katara Hills area of Bhopal. According to the police, he was employed at a factory near Bagroda.After completing the necessary legal formalities, police arrested Uike and sent him to Central Jail.- Ends