Ahmedabad: 25-year-old man booked for raping 17-year-old Dalit girl

The accused Rafiq Kasimbhai Malik took her to a hotel in Sarkhej where he raped her on April 26 night. He then rented a house in Limdi area of Ahmedabad and kept her there till April 29 night and raped her multiple times in those three days, a complaint by the victim’s father said. The complaint was made on Tuesday at Narol police station, a day after the girl returned home. The complaint says Malik is a labour contractor in a private company and got the victim a job in the company last year.

“Rafiq lured my daughter into believing that he would marry her. Using that trust, he forced himself on her, took her to a hotel and then a rented place and raped her,” the father said.

The case has been transferred to the SC/ST atrocities cell in Karanj Bhawan of Ahmedabad.

“The victim is 17 years and 8 months old and belongs to a scheduled caste community. We have recorded her statement and her medical test is being done,” said Ashwin V Patel, Assistant Commissioner of Police, SC/ST Atrocities Cell, Karanj, Ahmedabad. “We will soon make the arrest in the case.”

Police said the accused was a resident of Kalol, Gandhinagar. He has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 363 – kidnapping, 366 – kidnapping a woman to compel her into marriage, and 376 (2) – taking advantage of one’s position to rape a woman. He has also been booked under the Prevention of Atrocities against SC/ST Act section 3(1) and Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) act sections 3, 4, 5(L), 8 and 9(L).