Maharashtra: Sarpanch in Palghar booked for raping, cheating nurse

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A sarpanch in Palghar was booked for allegedly raping and cheating a 27-year-old nurse, a police official said on Saturday, reported news agency PTI.

Kamlakar Dhoom, sarpanch of Dengyachi Met of Jawhar, is accused of befriending the nurse, forcing her to divorce her husband and raping her repeatedly, senior inspector Sanjay Bramhane of Jawhar police station said, reported PTI.

"The sarpanch in Palghar also took Rs 1 lakh from the victim on the promise of making her services permanent at the health facility. She attempted suicide and is presently hospitalised. The FIR was registered on Friday and efforts are on to nab him," the official said, reported PTI.

In another incident, the police from Maharashtra's Thane city have arrested a 21-year-old man from Uttarakhand capital Dehradun for allegedly sharing the private pictures of a 13-year-old girl on the internet, an official said on Saturday, reported PTI.

Accused Rohit Kumar, originally from Saran in Bihar, had befriended the teenager from Thane on social media and allegedly accessed her nude pictures, the official said, reported PTI.

When the girl refused to continue chatting with Kumar, he shared her intimate pictures with her relatives and released them on the internet, the official said, reported PTI.

On a complaint by the girl, the Vartak Nagar police registered a case on April 1 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and IT Act and launched a probe, reported PTI.

Acting in various inputs, they tracked down Kumar to Dehradun and arrested him from there on Thursday, said senior inspector Rajkumar Wakchoure of Vartak Nagar police station.

The official said Kumar is a habitual offender and has targeted many girls similarly in the past.

Meanwhile, the police in Maharashtra's Thane district on Saturday registered a case after a 14-year-old girl accused a juvenile of repeatedly raping her and pressuring her to "marry" him, an official said, reported PTI.

Citing the complaint, the official said that the accused befriended the girl in November 2023 and raped her multiple times saying he wanted to "marry" her and that caste or faith didn't matter to him.

Later, he allegedly threatened to assault her if she didn't continue the relationship, the official said. In her complaint, the girl said she stopped interacting with him after he asked her to visit a place of worship, reported PTI.

The official from the Kashigaon police station under the Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar police commissionerate said a case has been registered for rape under the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

(With inputs from PTI)