Mumbai: A 16-year-old was allegedly gangraped by her boyfriend and five of his friends from her neighbourhood Wednesday morning. The incident occurred early morning around 2 am inside a lottery shop in the Tilak Nagar area. An alert rickshaw driver informed the police which then arrested all the accused from the spot. The accused have been remanded to police custody for the next three days.
The girl, who had dropped out of school last year, lied to her family telling them she was going to her girlfriend’s house and left home around 10 pm only to meet her boyfriend and five of his friends inside the lottery shop that had been started just two days ago. Two of the boys worked with the shop owner and decided to celebrate the shop opening with alcohol and dinner. The boys, who had too much to drink, forced the girl too to consume liquor after which all of them raped her inside the shop for nearly three hours.
Police official Bhagwat Sonawane said, “She was gangraped by her boyfriend and five of his friends. The incident came to light when a rickshaw driver, who had dropped a customer at the building opposite the shop, saw two boys standing outside the shop and alerted the police after sensing something fishy from the behavior of the two boys. Within half-an-hour, a seven-strong police team raided the shop and rescued the girl. She was unconscious when admitted to Rajawadi Hospital. The accused have been arrested under IPC Section 376 and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act 4, 6 and 12.”
