Accused sent to police custody for five days for minor rape

On Thursday, two men were arrested and two minors were arrested on charges of raping the girl they had befriended on social media. The incident came to light during a session organized in the college on sexual offenses against children.

The defendant allegedly sexually assaulted the teenager individually at various locations in the city and on university campuses between April and September and posted the videos online.

Police said they seized the cellphones of the accused and sent them for technical analysis to verify the claims.

“As of now, we have no evidence of the videos posted online but we are investigating the claims,” a senior police official said.

Police also dismissed the allegations of Congress MP Ravindra Dhangekar, who said that the management of the college, including trustees, tried to hush up the matter instead of helping the victim and his family.

Dhangekar said, “The police should investigate whether the victim was given drugs before the rape.”

Smartana Patil, deputy commissioner of police (Zone II), denied all allegations and said the issue came to light during a meeting organized in the college on sexual offenses against children.

“There was no drug use in this case. As far as the college management is concerned, they approached us when they came to know about the incident and we have taken necessary steps accordingly,” Patil said.

The college authorities informed the police about the incident on September 24 following which the parents were called and a case was registered against the accused at the Koregaon Park police station under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act and its equivalents Sections were submitted by Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on the same day.

According to the police, the victim’s parents were initially unwilling to file a complaint for fear of social stigmatization.