Two held in Malad for raping minors

The Malad police, in two separate cases, arrested two men on Wednesday night and charged them with raping their girlfriends who are minors.

The Malad police, in two separate cases, arrested two men on Wednesday night and charged them with raping their girlfriends who are minors.

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The duo had allegedly eloped with the girls and had sexual intercourse with them. The Indian Penal Code considers sexual intercourse with a minor to be rape even if it is consensual.

The accused have been identified as Balaji alias Yogesh Chitolia (21) and Sameer Mohammed Sheikh (19).

Police said the accused had eloped with their girlfriends — both under 18 years of age — a few weeks ago. The girls’ families had lodged kidnapping complaints against the accused, police sources said. The police said that in both cases the girl and the accused knew each other for a while and were in a relationship.

When the girls returned home, their families went to the police station and the police added charges of rape to the complaint. The accused were arrested from their homes.

The victims were sent to for medical tests to the Nagpada police hospital. The tests confirmed that the girls had sexual intercourse, the police said.

“Further investigations are on,” said Assistant Police Inspector A. Harkude.