Mumbai Crime: Relative, neighbours gang-rape minor

Two separate incidents of sexual assault on minors in the central area of the city have come to light in the past two days. In both cases, the survivors were 10-year-olds a boy and a girl and both were familiar with their assailants.

In the more recent case, a 10-year-old girl in Vikhroli was gang-raped by her relative and two of her neighbours over a period of six months. The young girl had been too scared to tell anyone about the incidents.

When the culprits' actions did come to light, however, the survivor's parents were initially not ready to file a complaint, fearing the social stigma. But, once other residents in the locality found out, they persuaded the parents to take action.

An officer from the Park Site police station said, "Since the last six months, the three accused have been sexually assaulting the 10-year-old girl by touching her private parts constantly. As she had been threatened, the victim never spilled the beans.

On Wednesday, when she began experiencing severe pain in her private parts, she complained to her parents." The three accused were booked under Section 376 (2) (g) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Sections 8 and 10 under the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012.

Minor sodomised
In the second case, which took place near Wadala T T on Tuesday, unnatural sex was forced upon a 10-year-old boy by a duo that lived in the same locality. Both the accused were minors themselves, aged 15 and 16 years old.

According to the police, the boy was heading to a public toilet when the accused hailed him and demanded that he get them cigarettes. When he refused, the duo got angry and beat him up, after which they removed his pants and one of them sodomised him.

Unlike the first case, however, as soon as the boy got home, he told his parents about the incident and they called the police control room. The two accused were then booked for sexual assault and unnatural offences.