Man held for raping minor stepdaughter in Bhavnagar

Rajkot: Three rape cases registered in different parts of Saurashtra in the past 24 hours have put a question mark on the safety of women in the region. An accused in one of the cases was arrested on Thursday.
Mukesh Makwana (37) was arrested for allegedly raping his 15-year-old step daughter in Sihor of Bhavnagar district. “Makwana had allegedly raped the girl several times between April 1 and April 15. On Monday, the girl mustered courage and narrated the incident to her mother who lodged a complaint against Makwana on Tuesday. Makwana was arrested on Thursday,” said P R Solanki, sub-inspector with Sihor police station.

In the second case, University police station booked Asif Sheikh and Juned Chishtiya for allegedly raping a 28-year-old married woman from Surat. According to police, Chishtiya is into event management. The woman had come into contact with him in Ajmer of Rajasthan. Chishtiya offered her a job with daily payment of Rs 1,000.

“In November last year, Chishtiya sent the woman to a party plot on Kalawad Road in Rajkot. The woman was put up at Shraddha Apartment. While she was asleep in her room, Sheikh allegedly clicked her photographs and then raped her, with the threat of making her photographs viral on social media,” said A L Acharya, inspector with University police station.

When the woman complained about the incident to Chishtiya, he called her to Ajmer, assuring her that her photographs would be returned to her. When she reached Ajmer, Chishtiya allegedly raped her in a guest house. He too clicked her objectionable photographs.

“The woman then went to Surat and lodged a complaint against the accused duo with the Adajan police station. As the first crime had occurred in Rajkot, the Adajan police station transferred the case to the University police station,” said Acharya. Both Sheikh and Chishtiya are yet to be arrested.

The third case was reported from Junagadh where a 23-year-old woman was raped allegedly by Jignesh Patel on Wednesday afternoon.

“Patel had called the woman to a guest house, promising to get her a job and then committed the crime. The woman lodged a complaint against him on Wednesday night,” said R B Solanki, sub-inspector with Junagadh B-Division police station. Patel is yet to be nabbed.