In a horrifying incident, a teenager was arrested by the Navghar police in Bhayandar on alleged charges of raping a 16-year-old girl. The accused, aged 19 years, was arrested on Wednesday and booked under sections 376 of the IPC and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act-2012.
According to the police, they had registered a case under section 363 (kidnap) after the girl (name and area details withheld to protect her identity) went missing on August 27, 2017.
The girl who was found a few hours later had also given her official statement before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), police said. However, it has been alleged that the police were taking the matter lightly by dilly-dialling it.
Clarifying their stand, senior police inspector of the Navghar police station, Milind Desai of the Navghar police station, said, "We have promptly registered cases of kidnapping when the girl went missing twice. Upon her return, statements were duly recorded by the CWC. When the girl and her mother again approached us on Tuesday with a complaint of rape against the accused, We, as per the due process of law, added all relevant sections of the IPC and POCSO Act and arrested the accused."
The accused was remanded to police custody till September 5, after he was produced before the court on Wednesday. The accused, who was known to the girl, had apparently lured her, sources said. While the medical examination reports of the girl are awaited, a team from the Navghar police is conducting a detailed investigation into the case.
