19-year-old youth arrested for rape, blackmail of 17-yr-old girl

Navi Mumbai: A 19-year-old boy has been arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl, blackmailing her with a video of the act and extorting money and gold jewellery from her, according to Rabale police

Navi Mumbai: A 19-year-old boy has been arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl, blackmailing her with a video of the act and extorting money and gold jewellery from her, according to Rabale police.

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The accused had allegedly raped the 17-year-old girl, from Koparkhairane, twice in a lodge and had made a video of the act using which he extorted money and gold jewellery from her.

The victim, a class 12 student, had met the accused at a clinic in Koparkhairane where her sister worked. In March 2021, she visited the clinic and was introduced to the accused, who supplied medicines to the clinic.

They soon became friends and after a few months, the accused took her out on a date and clicked their pictures together. In January, 2022, he took her to a lodge under the pretext of taking her to a party. The accused allegedly raped her there and made a video of the act.

On finding the cash missing from home, her mother questioned her and she about being blackmailed by the accused. The victim, however, not reveal to her family at that time that she had been raped by the accused.

The victim’s family called the accused and his father and questioned him about the blakmail. The accused apologised and returned the money. The family told him to cut off all ties with her.

In December 2022, the accused approached her again, this time through Instagram. He again allegedly threatened to send the video of the rape to her sister and asked her to meet him at the same lodge. The victim met him there and was allegedly raped again.

Again threatening to share the video, he asked the victim to give him her gold chain and earrings. Later, he started demanding more and more ornaments following which she gave him her mother’s chain, pendant, earrings, necklace and a mangalsutra kept in the cupboard along with ₹13,000 cash.

Last week, when the mother of the victim realised that her jewellery was missing, she questioned everyone at home. The victim then narrated what had happened following which they registered a case with Rabale police.

“He was arrested and all the ornaments, which he had already sold, were recovered. We are yet to recover the data from the mobile phone of the accused. He is still in police custody,” said Dulba Dakhne, senior police inspector from Rabale Police Station said. The accused has been arrested under sections of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) for rape and threats.