The MIDC police have arrested a 19-year-old youth for abducting and sexually assaulting a 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped from a Garba Pandal near her house in Andheri on Sunday.
According to the police, the child, who stays with her parents and younger sister, had been to a local Garba event with her sister. Her sister made a quick trip home and when she came back, the 11-year-old was nowhere to be seen. The younger sister then alerted her parents, who after trying in vain to locate her, approached the police at around 5:30 pm on Sunday.
“We made enquiries in the area and found that a 19-year-old man who stayed in the same colony and who frequently been seen around the 11-year-old earlier, had been missing since her disappearance,” said senior police inspector Satish Gaikwad, MIDC police station. “We questioned two of his roommates and after sustained questioning, they revealed that the suspect had a brother staying in Malad.”
The investigating team then rushed to Malad and made enquiries with the suspect’s brother, who works in an idol workshop. The brother, while initially claiming that he knew nothing about the suspect’s whereabouts, ultimately revealed that the suspect had a friend staying in Mahim.
{{/usCountry}}The investigating team then rushed to Malad and made enquiries with the suspect’s brother, who works in an idol workshop. The brother, while initially claiming that he knew nothing about the suspect’s whereabouts, ultimately revealed that the suspect had a friend staying in Mahim.
{{/usCountry}}The police then got the exact address of suspect’s friend and also confirmed his cellular location. After confirming the location near Mahim, the police team rushed to the area and found the accused and the girl together. The girl was rescued after seven hours of the complaint being registered.
“We took the girl child to Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle for a medical examination, whereas the accused was brought to the police station for enquiries,” said Gaikwad.
The boy confessed that he had convinced the victim to come with him and had sexually assaulted her, he added.
The suspect, who takes odd jobs on a contract basis for a living, was subsequently placed under arrest and charged with kidnapping and rape under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
A local court has remanded the 19-year-old in police custody.
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