Mumbai, India: In a disturbing development, a twelve-year-old girl has been brutally gang-raped in Mumbai’s Jogeshwari. Five accused have been arrested by the Jogeshwari Police in connection with the case so far. The accused, who are currently in judicial custody work as AC machine mechanics, as per the police. The police registered a case of gang-rape and kidnapping against the five men on February 28 and arrested them on Sunday. One of the accused is the victim’s acquaintance, while the other four are strangers, said the police.
Minor girl goes missing from home
According to the police, the 12-year-old girl left from her home after having a fight with her uncle saying she is going to pay a visit to her grandmother’s home on February 24. She left home around 9.30 in the morning but she did not return. Her grandmother informed that she had left within minutes of arriving. As she did not return after several hours, her parents became anxious and began searching for her in the neighbourhood. Unable to trace their daughter, the girl’s parents finally approached the police. A case of kidnapping was registered against an unknown person by the Jogeshwari Police.
How the crime took place
“Four of the five accused met her near Jogeshwari station and took her to their house on the pretext of giving her shelter for the night. On 26 February, three of the them gang-raped her, while one molested her. After this, the minor fled from there and reached Dadar station, where she met another man, who took her to Marine Drive and molested her,” police said.
Around 3 am on February 27, the Dadar Government Railway Police (GRP) found a girl on a platform along with a 20-year-old man. When the railway police questioned her, she alleged rape by the five men. Since she was a minor, they brought her to the Dadar GRP station. The officers posted a photo of her on their WhatsApp groups and found that a kidnapping case was registered at the Jogeshwari Police Station on February 24.
“The girl had arrived home late, sparking a heated argument with her uncle. Distraught, she left her home and made her way to Jogeshwari station, where she met a boy who offered to accompany her to Bandra’s Band Stand. After spending time there, she returned and encountered a group of five youths who allegedly took her to Marine Drive and then to Sanjay Nagar, where the horrific crime occurred. The following morning, while the accused were away at work, the girl managed to escape the location and began travelling between train stations, and then she was spotted by a GRP official in a very distressed condition,” said the police.
Case filed under POCSO Act
A case was filed under several sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, following which all five perpetrators were arrested. The suspects are Jamal, Aaftab, Mahfooz, Hasan, and Jafer. The police are currently conducting further investigations to uncover more details about the case and any possible connections to prior criminal activity.
