8 arrested for sexual harassment as 17-year-old girl in Kalyan dies by suicide
Kolsewadi police arrested eight college students including a girl after a 17-year-old girl allegedly died by suicide in Kalyan (E) on Sunday; the deceased left a suicide note naming the eight and claimed that they sexually harassed her for over one-and-a-half years
Kolsewadi police, on Wednesday, arrested eight college students including a girl after a 17-year-old girl allegedly died by suicide in Kalyan (E) on Sunday.
The deceased was a Class 12 student who secured 71% in the exam results declared last week. The girl had left a suicide note naming the eight and claimed that they sexually harassed her for over one-and-a-half years.
Among those arrested is also the son of a well-known developer from Kalyan. The girl claimed that she was under immense stress due to the assault. The police arrested all the accused aged 18-21 years for abetment, sexual assault and under the relevant sections of Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
During the investigation, police found a suicide note on her mobile phone in which she wrote about her ordeal.
The police said, “The girl was sexually assaulted by the seven accused while the girl in the group allegedly took the video of the deceased. They then blackmailed her with the video for over a year-and-a-half. Following post-mortem report, we will also add sections for rape if necessary.”
They were all produced in Kalyan court and remanded to police custody for six days.
The girl’s parents claimed to be unaware of the matter. The girl’s mother said, “I was not able to do anything for my daughter and she is now no more. I should get justice for her. She never told us about the harassment.”
The victim’s father added, “The accused allegedly raped and tortured her. I do not believe she died by suicide and the police need to investigate her death. These boys are neighbours and residents of the same complex as ours and we should get some security as some of them are from well-known families.”
