Two arrested for rape of 17-year-old student at Thakurli
The two accused have been identified as Vishnu Subhash Bhandekar (25), who works as a labourer and lives at Nevali naka in Kalyan, and Ashish Prakashchand Gupta (32), who works at a tea stall in Nandivali village in Dombivli.
Dombivli: The Vishnu Nagar police on Sunday arrested two men who had allegedly posed as cops and raped a 17-year-old college student near Thakurli creek in Dombivli on Friday afternoon. The policemen claimed they had solved the case within 24 hours.
The two accused have been identified as Vishnu Subhash Bhandekar (25), who works as a labourer and lives at Nevali naka in Kalyan, and Ashish Prakashchand Gupta (32), who works at a tea stall in Nandivali village in Dombivli.
Pandhrinath Bhalerao, senior police inspector at Vishnu Nagar Police Station, told HT that the cops formed five teams after the offence was reported. “Two teams were deployed in technical intelligence and worked with informers to zoom in on suspicious people in the area,” he said. “We got a lead and arrested Vishnu from his residence. During questioning, he confessed to the crime and revealed the details of his accomplice. We nabbed the second accused, Ashish, from Kalyan.” Bhalerao said the accused, booked under the relevant IPC sections for gangrape, would be produced in court on Monday.
“Accused number one, Vishnu, has a past record of crime,” said Bhalerao. “Two cases of housebreaking were registered against him at our police station. He was released on bail two months ago. During the interrogation, he and his accomplice revealed that they had gone to Thakurli creek for fishing.”
The incident took place in a secluded area near Thakurli creek on Friday afternoon when the college student had gone to the creekside with her male friend for a walk. According to the police, Vishnu and Ashish, claiming to be policemen, approached the duo, questioned their presence and threatened them.
Ashish then took the boy to another side of the creek on the pretext of interrogating him while Vishnu took the girl to an isolated spot and raped her. Later, Ashish returned to the spot and raped her too. Claiming that they had shot a video of the rape, the accused threatened to upload it if the two disclosed the incident to anyone. They then left them near the Thakurli railway track and fled.
The rape survivor and her friend returned to her home and narrated the incident to her parents. Accompanied by her parents, she approached the railway police and lodged a complaint. It was later transferred to the Vishnu Nagar police station in Dombivli, which registered the FIR under IPC sections pertaining to rape, the relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act and the relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
