Dad’s friend rapes 3-year-old, absconds

Nagpur: A three-year-old minor girl was raped on Thursday by her father's friend, Chabi Devangan, a crane driver who worked along with him in the same company, in Bidgaon under the Nandanvan police station jurisdiction. The survivor's father is a truck driver.

The matter came to light when the survivor's mother took her for a bath. The offence of rape has been registered against the accused under The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012. Devangan, hailing from Chhattisgarh, has been absconding.

According to police, the 28-year-old accused took the survivor to his rented place on the second floor on the pretext of giving her a glass of water to quench her thirst. Her parents were busy arranging their new rented house on the first floor of the same building.

Second PI M M Salunkhe told TOI, "The accused locked the door from inside and raised the radio's volume before starting his heinous act, and when the minor started crying, he gave his mobile phone to her.

"When her parents didn't find her in the house, they went upstairs and found the door of Devangan house locked from inside. They knocked it several times. Devangan opened it and handed over the girl. When her mother took the survivor for a bath, she cried and revealed the ordeal," the police officer said.

The duo later rushed her to a private hospital where doctors too confirmed the sexual harassment, the officer said.