38-year-old woman arrested for eloping with 16-year-old

The woman and the teenager, who allegedly eloped on June 29, were brought back from Gujarat on Tuesday.

A 38-year-old woman was arrested on Tuesday night for allegedly kidnapping a 16- year-old youth, who resided in the same locality in Kurla, and sexually abusing him. The woman and the teenager, who allegedly eloped on June 29, were brought back from Gujarat on Tuesday.

A 38-year-old woman was arrested on Tuesday night for allegedly kidnapping a 16- year-old youth, who resided in the same locality in Kurla, and sexually abusing him.

The woman was arrested on the complaint of the teenager’s father. She was produced before the special court under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on Thursday afternoon, and was remanded in police custody for seven days for further investigation.

According to the prosecution, the woman and the teenager had been in touch for the past two or three months. On June 29, the teenager left the house on the pretext of going to buy some snacks, but did not return. The family began inquiring about him in the neighbourhood and at their native place, but he was not found.

A missing person complaint was registered by the Nehru Nagar police after the family approached them on July 2. Meanwhile, the woman’s husband also approached the police and a missing person complaint was lodged.

While probing the complaint regarding the teenager, the police obtained his call data records and found several calls to a particular number. The number turned out to be of the accused woman. The police then realised that the two went missing on the same date and their phones were last switched on at the same location, at the same time.

Further investigation revealed that the two first went to Bandra Terminus and left for Delhi. They tried to take a house on rent there, but failed. Later, they reached Baroda, where they could not find suitable accommodation. They went to Navsari, where they stayed at the station and the woman sold her jewellery to sustain themselves. They then went to Jalalpur village in Gujarat, where they rented a house. The prosecution claimed that between July 2 and August 11, they stayed at Jalalpur whereby the woman allegedly sexually abused him.