22 February,2015 07:20 AM IST | | Sagar Rajput
Thane Crime Branch Unit 1 has nabbed 5 individuals for allegedly bringing a 16-yr-old girl under the influence of the Meow Meow drug and taking turns in raping her at 3 different locations
Protest against rape
The Thane Crime Branch Unit 1 has arrested five individuals for allegedly drugging a 16-year-old girl and taking turns in raping her at three different locations on Friday.
A file photo of a protest held in Andheri after the gang-rape of a girl in Delhi in December 2012
According to police officials, the rape survivor left her residence on February 5 at 9.30am after having a quarrel with her parents. One of the accused in the case (name withheld as he is 17 years old and hence underage) met the victim and, on the pretext of providing her shelter, took her to a hotel in Raigad.
An officer from the Thane Crime Branch, on condition of anonymity said, "After taking her to the hotel and bringing her under the influence of Meow Meow drug, the minor accused raped her in the hotel room. Following this, he informed one of his friends, Fahad Dhamse, about the incident. Dhamse reached the hotel and raped her too."
Later, the two accused decided to go home and left the survivor in custody of two other friends, Mohammad Javed Memom and Amjad Ali Sangram. They also raped her, after offering her the drug. The victim was, once again, handed over to the fifth accused, Akram Iqbal Khan, who took her to his Khopoli residence and raped her after offering her drugs," explained an officer, on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, on February 9, one of the survivor's family members registered a case of kidnapping against Prashant Singh (22) at the Mumbra Police Satation. Singh, who got arrested on February 11, has been remanded to judicial custody by Thane court. His role in the crime is being investigated and Singh will be interrogated by the police soon.
On February 10, the survivor called her mother and asked her to pick her up from Mumbra station. Assistant commissioner of Police Nagesh Lohar from the Thane Crime Branch said, "Initially, the case was being investigated by Mumbra police but later, the case was transferred to the Crime Branch on February 13. During investigations, we found several loopholes in the case and the incident of rape was brought to light later."
The five accused, who were absconding, got arrested from their respective residences and have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. They were produced in court and have been remanded to police custody till February 25.
