School van driver rapes Nagpur girl, blackmails her

Krishna Shinde, a local police officer, said that the accused Pawan Kohpare, 26, is a neighbour of the girl

A school van driver allegedly raped a 14-year-old student at Tope Layout in Maharashtra’s Nagpur last month and blackmailed her by threatening to make her photographs viral, police said. The matter came to light on Monday when the driver was arrested, they added.

The matter came to light on Monday when the driver was arrested. (HT PHOTO)

Krishna Shinde, a local police officer, said that the accused Pawan Kohpare, 26, is a neighbour of the girl. He added that Kohpare allegedly took the girl to a hutment and raped her before dropping her to school and later home.

Police said that the driver continued to blackmail her until she narrated her ordeal to her family, which reported the matter to the police. Shinde said that Kohpare was blackmailing the girl to continue her sexual exploitation. He added that the accused has been booked under the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.