25-yr-old held for raping 5-yr-old niece

A 25-year-old man allegedly raped his five-year-old niece at their Jogeshwari (West) residence on Republic Day. The accused, who is the girl’s paternal uncle, was arrested by the Oshiwara police on Tuesday.

A 25-year-old man allegedly raped his five-year-old niece at their Jogeshwari (West) residence on Republic Day. The accused, who is the girl’s paternal uncle, was arrested by the Oshiwara police on Tuesday.

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Police said the accused is a school dropout and is unemployed. He lived with the victim’s family at their Ganesh Nagar residence in Jogeshwari and had been asked to take care of the girl in her mother’s absence.

The victim lives with her parents, grandmother and paternal uncle, the police further said.

Her father, who is a daily wage labourer, her mother, who is a domestic help, and her grandmother were not at home at the time of the incident.

On Monday, the girl complained to her mother of severe pain in her private parts. After her mother repeatedly questioned her, the girl eventually told her of the incident, after which her parents lodged a complaint with the Oshiwara police.

Preliminary medical tests revealed that there was swelling on the girl’s private parts.

After medical reports confirmed rape, the accused was booked and arrested. “We have booked him for rape and under the new law to protect the children from sexual abuse. We have secured his custody and will question him further,” said an officer from the Oshiwara police station.

The accused has been charged with rape (section 376) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with penetrative sexual assault (section 4), sexual assault (section 8) and sexual harassment of the child (section 12) of the protection of sexual offences against children Act 2012.

He has been remanded in police custody for seven days.