A man was booked in Mumbai Friday for allegedly raping his 17-year-old cousin several times over a period of four years, after the girl contacted an NGO through internet.
The girl used to stay with her aunt, who is the mother of the accused, after her father suffered a partial paralysis attack, police said, adding that her parents had separated a few years ago.
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According to police, the accused used to show the girl porn videos and sexually assault her whenever she was alone at home.
“The accused cousin was raping the minor by threatening to tell her father about the incident and also threatened her that he would make sure that she was sent to a hostel,” a police officer said.
He had allegedly raped the girl from July 2017 to December 2021. In 2021, the accused and his family relocated to another place and the girl went back to her father’s place.
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The girl, however, did not share her ordeal with anyone, police said. But recently, after learning that her cousin, who is an IT-professional, is going abroad to settle down, the 17-year-old girl started searching for contacts of NGOs for women and children in distress online.
She then came across Neha Pednekar of NGO- Yuva Child Help Line, who helped her file a complaint at the police station concerned. “The accused sexually assaulted her multiple times and performed unnatural sex on her, causing her to bleed sometimes. Fearing her father and grandmother would not allow her to continue her studies, she didn’t express her ordeal to anyone,” said Pednekar.
“The girl was so traumatised by the torture that she slipped into depression. She even tried to end her life once. Finally, she gathered courage and has now lodged a police complaint,” Pednekar added.
After her medical examination at Rajawadi hospital, police sent the girl to a shelter home in Deonar.
The police have registered a case under sections 376 (rape), 376(2)(n) (rape on multiple instances), 377 (unnatural sex), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and 6, 8 and 12 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO)Act.
The police are looking for the accused, who is suspected to be in Pune, sources said.
After her medical examination at Rajawadi hospital, police sent the girl to a shelter home in Deonar. (Representational/File
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