Bennett Rebello case: Murdered musician, accused’s boyfriend to be booked for rape

Bennett Rebello, the 59-year-old musician who was allegedly killed by his ‘adopted daughter’ and her 16-year-old boyfriend, will be posthumously booked on charges

Bennett Rebello, the 59-year-old musician who was allegedly killed by his ‘adopted daughter’ and her 16-year-old boyfriend, will be posthumously booked on charges of rape and under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The minor boyfriend will also be charged for rape under similar sections.

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Shahji Umap, deputy commissioner of police, said the case will be registered as per procedure, as the girl accused, who claimed to be 19 years old, turned out to be a minor (17 years, five months old) after her brother submitted her birth certificate to the Mumbai Police’s crime branch on December 15.

The girl, who was in police custody till December 16, was immediately handed over to a juvenile home. In her statement to police following her arrest alongside that of her 16-year-old boyfriend, the girl said that she was sexually assaulted by Rebello for more than a year. The girl was staying at Rebello’s Vakola residence since March 2018.

Now, the crime branch will file a complaint against Rebello and the boyfriend following which a case will be registered at Ghatkopar police station.

The minor girl and her boyfriend had murdered Rebello before chopping his body into eight parts on November 26. They then dumped bags containing the body parts in Mithi river on November 28. The girl was arrested on December 7 from Rebello’s Vakola residence and after interrogating her, the police arrested her boyfriend, also a minor, the same day.

During their interrogation, the duo revealed the name of a third accused, Ali Miyan Chaus, 19, who helped them pack and dispose the musician’s body. He was arrested on December 14. Chaus is allegedly a school friend of the accused boyfriend.