Two minor girls, including a four-year-old, were allegedly raped in suburban Andheri in separate incidents, police said on Monday. In the four-year-old girl's case, accused Salman Hafeez was arrested while a manhunt was on to trace the culprit, who allegedly raped a 17-year-old girl, police said.
According to the Oshiwara police, on Sunday around 7 pm, the four-year-old girl was allegedly abducted by Hafeez while she was playing in Tukaram Omble Park near her residence in Andheri's Oshiwara area. Hafeez lifted the girl in his arms and took her nearly 300 metres away to a secluded place and then raped her.
The victim was abandoned and was later spotted in an unconscious state by a local resident, who alerted the police and then called her parents. She was rushed to nearby Cooper Hospital. The victim narrated the incident to her parents, who lodged a complaint with the police.
"We launched a combing operation and detained around 25 persons. Based on description provided by the victim, we have arrested Salman," said Nasir Pathan, senior inspector at Oshiwara police station.
A first information report has been registered under section 376 (rape),
363 (kidnapping) and under section 4, 8 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
In another case, a 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her estranged boyfriend's friend, who tricked her into coming to a deserted area in Versova of Andheri.
According to the Versova police, the crime took place at an isolated place filled with mangroves off the Versova link road in Seven Bungalows area last night.
The accused called the victim on her mobile phone and asked her to come to the crime spot at around 9 pm saying her estranged boyfriend had come there. When the victim reached the spot, the accused took her inside the mangroves and raped her.
Soon after the incident the victim rushed to the Versova police station where a case of rape under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code registered.
On August 22, a 23-year-old photojournalist was gang raped by five men at the defunct Shakti Mills compound in the Mahalaxmi area when she had gone there for on assignment with a male colleague.
Image: A protest against increasing cases of rape in Mumbai
