42-year-old man arrested for raping minor in Palghar

Palghar: A 42-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly sexually assaulting and raping a 12-year-old girl in Palghar district

Palghar: A 42-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly sexually assaulting and raping a 12-year-old girl in Palghar district. The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon when the accused, under the pretext of asking her help to alter some mobile settings in his phone, allegedly assaulted the victim when her parents were not home.

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The girl, had just finished her lunch and was washing her hands outside the house, is when the accused inquired if her mother had gone to work at 3 pm. After confirming she was alone, the accused allegedly dragged the girl inside his house which is beside the victim’s home stuffed her mouth with handkerchief-like material, and sexually assaulted her.

Both the victim’s parents were away at work. Once her mother returned home, she revealed the incident to her. The girl’s parents registered the complaint at Tarapur police station.

The accused does tile fitting jobs in construction projects and is a daily wager and a seasonal migrant. His neighbours said that he was staying with his second wife. After the incident, the accused fled the locality and reached the Dandipada-Dongri area in the Boisar area, about 10 km from Tarapur. Feeling the guilt, he was in the mental stage of dying by suicide, but the police nabbed him, said a police officer.

The police have arrested the accused under section 64(1) (Punishment for Rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 4, 8, and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. The police have remanded him to five days of custody and are further investigating.