4 Mumbai youths, including two minors, held for sexually assaulting 17-year-old girl for over a year

Kalachowki police on Sunday arrested four youths, including two minor boys, for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl on different occasions

Kalachowki police on Sunday arrested four youths, including two minor boys, for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl on different occasions. Police have also booked a woman friend of the victim for blackmailing the victim with sensitive videos of her. She has not been arrested yet.

The complainant and the four arrested accused are college students.

The complainant and the four arrested accused are college students. According to police, the two minors, aged 17, are residents of Worli and Kalachowki, respectively. The third accused is a 19-year-old Ghodapdeo resident while the wanted woman is a resident of Bhoiwada, Parel.

The fifth accused is the victim’s 18-year-old boyfriend from Tardeo. He has been arrested for engaging in sexual relations with a minor and is not involved in the blackmail scheme the others have been accused of participating in.

All five accused have been booked under sections 376 (rape), 34 (common intention), 4 (committing penetrative sexual assault), 8 (punishment for sexual assault) and 12 (committing sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (Pocso) Act. However, police have not invoked section 67A (publishing or transmitting sexually explicit material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act. More sections may be added in the case as more details surface during the investigation.

According to police, the complainant minor girl is a resident of NM Joshi Marg. In the first information report (FIR), the girl stated that the accused woman had previously shared a room with her [in a paying guest facility]. During this time, the accused woman had taken semi-naked videos of the complainant while she was changing clothes. She also filmed the girl while she was engaged in sexual relations with her boyfriend.

“The accused woman blackmailed the victim by threatening to tell her parents about the videos. The woman forced the minor girl to engage in sexual relations with her three friends, including the two minors,” said a police officer, requesting anonymity.

“The arrested accused sexually assaulted the teen on multiple occasions between September 9, 2019, and January 9, 2021,” another officer said.

The matter was first reported to Bhoiwada police station, and a Zero FIR was registered on the evening of January 9. The case was then transferred to Kalachowki police station, as the girl was first exploited in a room at a residential society in Abhyudaya Nagar, Kalachowki.

Police immediately swung into action and arrested the four accused. The two minor boys have been sent to the Dongri Child Correction Home while the other two are in police custody. The accused woman is yet to be arrested. Police said that she is the main accused and investigators are probing to find out if she accepted favours from her three friends for helping them take advantage of the victim.

The accused’s phone call records, location details of the past year, their social media accounts and other online activities are being scrutinised for collection of evidence. Police have seized their cell phones as part of the evidence pertaining to the offence.

Gokulsinh Patil, senior inspector of Kalachowki police station confirmed the registration of the case but refused to divulge any details.