Minor arrested for raping 22-year-old woman in Ghansoli at knifepoint

The police said the accused entered the house by removing the glass panes of the toilet window and damaging the lower portion of the bathroom door

NAVI MUMBAI: The police arrested a minor boy for allegedly raping a 22-year-old woman at knifepoint inside her house in Ghansoli early Thursday morning. The accused was apprehended within hours at the Ghansoli railway station after police traced him using CCTV footage.

Minor arrested for raping 22-year-old woman in Ghansoli at knifepoint

According to the Rabale police, the survivor, a mechanical engineer from Assam, had moved to Ghansoli in November and was living alone. The police said the accused entered the house by removing the glass panes of the toilet window and damaging the lower portion of the bathroom door.

After realising that the woman was alone, the minor allegedly threatened her with a knife and sexually assaulted her. He later fled the spot through the main door.

While the incident occurred around 1:45 am, the survivor alerted the police at around 2am, shortly after the accused had escaped. Following the complaint, police teams scanned CCTV footage from the surrounding area and identified the suspect based on his clothing. The police said the survivor recognised him from distinctive stripes on his shirt, which matched the CCTV footage too. “He is a vagabond residing on the footpath of Ghansoli,” said a police officer.

Personnel from the Rabale police station, along with three units of the Navi Mumbai crime branch, traced the accused to the Ghansoli railway station and took him into custody. During verification, it was confirmed that he is a minor, and he was later produced before the juvenile justice board in Bhiwandi.

The Rabale police have booked the minor under sections 64(1) (rape), 331(5) (house break in), 127(2) (wrongful confinement) and 352 (intentional insult) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) along with relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act.