'Gangrape' of minor girl in Mumbai, one arrested

Mumbai, Aug 2 (IANS) A 20-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the alleged gangrape of a minor girl, a police officer said on Saturday.

The arrest of the youth came after a case was registered at Tilak Nagar Police Station in Mumbai. Further investigation is underway.

The minor girl hails from the Ghatkopar area of Mumbai. In this case, Tilak Nagar Police Station of Mumbai has arrested the young man, who is reportedly mentally unstable.

The police officer said that the incident came to light when an 18-year-old girl from Ghatkopar was taken to Rajawadi Hospital after her health deteriorated. During the investigation, it was revealed that the girl was 8 months pregnant.

After this revelation, the police registered a case under the relevant sections of the gangrape and POCSO Act on the basis of the statement of the victim. In the initial investigation, the case appeared to be a gangrape, but now the police have clarified that it is not a case of gangrape.

Police said that the victim is mentally unstable, she never studied and has no one to take care of her, she belongs to a poor family and is often found roaming alone on the streets, due to which she also went missing many times, since she was a minor, 3-4 kidnapping cases are already registered regarding her in Ghatkopar Police Station.

The victim had claimed in her initial statement that a young man living near the hospital was in a physical relationship with her, and two other people were also reported to be involved with him.

However, the girl was not able to give clear information about the time and names. One of the people whose names she mentioned died in July this year; that person used to live on the road in a state of intoxication.

When the police investigated further, the name of another youth came to light, who had absconded on Friday. The police tracked him down and arrested him, and during interrogation, he admitted to his relationship.

Since the incident happened in December last year, CCTV footage is not available, but the police questioned more than 100 people, including auto drivers, tea vendors and people around the temples there, after which it became clear that the victim was often seen roaming with the accused youth.

--IANS

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