30 August,2016 04:16 PM IST | | PTI
A 25-year-old man was arrested here for allegedly abducting and raping a minor girl, police said on Tuesday
Palghar: A 25-year-old man was arrested here for allegedly abducting and raping a minor girl, police said on Tuesday.
The accused, identified as Prem Rai, was held on Tuesday in connection with the incident that took place on August 7 here, Additional SP, Vasai Division, Yogesh Kumar said.
The accused took the victim, aged around 15, by force to the terrace of a building in Vasai and allegedly committed the crime. He also threatened her with a blade and fled the spot with her mobile phone, he said.
A case was lodged with regard to the incident under IPC section 376 (rape), 363 (kidnapping), 342 (wrongful confinement), 392 (robbery), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act.
During investigation, based on CCTV footage, the police team searched hotels, lodges, mobile shops and gas agencies in Vasai and Virar area.
Later, police got a tip off that a 'habitual criminal' who targeted mostly young girls only on weekends, is at large. The accused was spotted loitering in and around Vasai and was nabbed yesterday, he said. He was produced before a local court, which remanded him in police custody till September 3.
Investigating officer sub-inspector Sarjerao Kumbhar said that one more victim, a minor, came forward yesterday to lodge a complaint against Rai, a resident of 24 Pargana district in West Bengal.
The case was registered under section 354 (d) (sexual harassment), 342, 323, 504, 506 of the IPC and also under relevant sections of POCSO Act, he said.
