Mumbai: 4 men, including 2 minors, held for gangraping 14-year-old in Kandivali

Mumbai Police said the accused blackmailed the 14-year-old with threats to leak a private video before allegedly assaulting her on two occasions in Kandivali.

Four men, including two minors, were apprehended for allegedly gangraping a 14-year-old girl on two occasions in Maharashtra’s Kandivali after blackmailing her with threats to circulate a video purportedly showing her bathing.

Two minors, both aged 17, are among the four arrested for allegedly gangraping a 14-year-old girl after threatening to circulate her private video.

The men allegedly exploited the girl by claiming to possess a private video of her and threatening to share it on social media if she did not comply with their demands.

The two minors, both aged 17, were sent to an observation home in Dongri, while the other two accused, aged 18 and 22, were remanded to police custody by a special sessions court in Dindoshi until Monday, November 16.

According to the police, the first incident took place on November 6, when one of the minors, who was acquainted with the survivor and lived in the same locality, approached her at around 6pm.

Threatening to circulate her private video on social media, he told her that she would have to accompany him if she wanted to prevent its circulation or have it deleted.

The girl subsequently went with him to the Hanuman Nagar area of Kandivali, where the accused allegedly sexually assaulted her in turns. After the assault, they threatened her against disclosing the incident, warning that they would circulate obscene videos of her on social media.

On November 10, one of the accused contacted her on Snapchat and demanded that she come to their place. Fearing public humiliation, the girl went there, where two of the four men allegedly raped her again.

The survivor subsequently approached the police, who registered a case following her complaint.

An FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

Following the registration of the case, the police launched an operation to trace the accused and apprehended all four from different locations.