40-yr-old man held for raping  minor girl in Banaskantha 

A 40-year-old man was arrested on Saturday for allegedly raping a 13-year-old Dalit girl in Banaskantha after she called on Women Helpline to be rescued from the accused’s house.

According to police, the accused man is the partner of the girl’s mother who left him a month ago.

As per the first information report filed on Saturday, a team of  women police visited a house on Friday night after they received a distress call and rescued the girl who was taken to a child care shelter.

“The accused man is a partner of the victim’s mother who has a 13-year-old daughter and eight-year-old son with her estranged husband. As per the statement given by the girl, she was earlier living in a hostel when four months ago, her mother took her to Ahmedabad where the accused man who was introduced to the children as their new ‘father’,” the FIR read.

They then moved to a rented residence in Banaskantha. “A month ago, the girl’s mother left home and the kids were left with the accused who repeatedly forced himself on the girl,” the FIR added.

The accused has been booked under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code for rape, sections of the The Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

“The accused is a daily wage labourer and was not at home when the girl was rescued. We arrested him on Saturday,” police said.