MUMBAI: A 17-year-old boy has been arrested after a 16-year-old girl’s father approached Kurla police accusing at least three teenagers of raping her, filming the act, and exploiting her for months with the threat of circulating the video.
The boy detained on Saturday has been booked for rape,
blackmail, and under the stringent Pocso Act since the girl is a minor. But since he is also a minor, he was produced before the
Juvenile Justice Board and remanded to an observation home.
The police are keen to arrest the others before deciding whether they want the teen to be tried as an adult.
The case came to light recently when the girl’s father learnt about a lewd MMS clip featuring his daughter doing the rounds in his locality. “He was told that his daughter has been trapped and is being exploited. He immediately grilled his daughter, who broke down and narrated her ordeal,” said a source.
She said that a few months ago, the arrested accused, a neighbour, befriended her while she was going to school. One day in the evening, he took her to the terrace of his building and raped her. He filmed the act and threatened her to keep quiet. A few days later, he again approached the girl and warned that if she did not meet him on the terrace, he would circulate the video.
“The accused had been exploiting her since, but the crime got more sinister as recently, a few other boys from the locality approached her one after the other with the video and began exploiting her,” said the source. The police are trying to find out how the MMS clip reached the other boys.
The girl’s father, a middle class man who had never stepped into a police station, was initially reluctant to lodge a complaint. Alerted, the police convinced him that under new laws, the girl would not have to make rounds of the court. Her statement recorded before a magistrate would be enough to nail the accused. After assurances from elders of the society, he finally lodged a complaint.
“Our entire family is shattered by the news. I have not slept for the last two nights and have been taking medicines,” the troubled man told TOI.
“As per the girl’s complaint, we have arrested one minor boy, and the case is being probed. A medical test has been done on the girl and we are awaiting reports in a day or two,” said Kurla senior inspector
Lalasaheb Shetye.
The police acknowledged that they are in a tricky situation, as the main accused has been sent to the
Dongri observation home. Asked if they would press for the 17-year-old to be tried as an adult since new laws allow juveniles in grievous crimes to be treated more strictly, the police said they are keen to complete the investigation before taking a call.
With more such cases of exploitation coming up, activist
Imran Shaikh said it is time schools spread awareness about misuse of technology and the rudiments of law.
Representative Image
