The residents of Mahim Police Colony are in a state of shock. They can't believe that constable Sunil Atmaram More, a resident of the colony till three years ago, raped a teenaged girl at Marine Drive in Mumbai.
They recalled that More, dismissed from service after the April 21 incident, was a bit of a loner.
His once immediate neighbour, speaking to rediff.com on the condition of anonymity, said, "I feel sad. Because of More the entire police force has fallen into disrepute. In my 30 years of career I have never heard or seen such a thing happen. What he did was really disgusting."
More moved out of Room No 90, Building Number 3, Mahim Police Colony, three years ago. It has not been occupied since.
The door has stickers of Lord Ganesha and Goddesses Saraswati and Lakshmi. There is an unpaid electricity bill in the name of More's father, Atmaram Chandu More, who was a havaldar with Mumbai police.
"The bills come regularly but the government pays as they [the Mores] are not staying here," said the neighbour.
According to him, the Mores hardly interacted with anyone. "We have a minimum of 12 hours' duty. There is so much pressure of work that there is hardly any time to interact with neighbours or go for social gatherings. I know that he moved to some western suburbs. We only used to exchange greetings [when More was a resident of the colony]," he added.
Milind Sawant, a collegian, who was also More's neighbour, asked, "How could he [More] do this?"
A cooking gas delivery man, who delivered cylinders at the More residence, said: "His eyes used to be red. I always felt he was a perpetual drinker. He used to be quiet...but he used to reek of alcohol," he said.