Pune crime: 52-year-old rapes tenant's three-year-old daughter

After the child’s mother caught him in the act, she and three neighbours confronted him; he then claimed to have a heart condition and threatened to harm himself if any action was taken against him

In another incident of child sexual abuse in the city, a 52-year-old man who had been caught having sex with his tenant’s three-year-old daughter, was arrested yesterday.

When nabbed, he had tried to save himself by saying that he was a heart patient, and would harm himself of anyone informed the police about his heinous crime. Four days after the incident, however, the child’s mother finally mustered the courage and filed an FIR at the Sangvi police station on Sunday.

The suspect, identified as Bharat Balbhim Thorat (52), is a resident of Laxminagar in Pimple Gurav. He has been arrested by the Sangvi police. Thorat has been charged under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 3(d) (penetrative sexual assault), 7 and 8 (punishment for sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Copspeak
PSI J P Patil from Sangvi police station, who is investigating the case, said, “Thorat is the owner of the house, and the complainant and her family have been staying there as tenants for a year. The complainant has two daughters, aged six and three. Her husband works as a truck driver.”

“Thorat was with his own granddaughter on Thursday morning. He took the complainant’s daughter along with him into a room and locked the door from inside. After a while, the complainant came searching for her daughter, but found the door locked. She then peered into the room through a window. She was shocked to see Thorat sexually assaulting the child,” PSI Patil said.

Threat issued
“The complainant shouted for help, after which three neighbours gathered and confronted Thorat. Thorat started saying that he had done nothing wrong with the girl, but then claimed to be a heart patient. He threatened the complainant and his neighbours that he would harm himself if anyone reported the incident to the police,” Patil added.

The mother of the survivor has said that she saw Thorat raping her daughter in his room. “I immediately alerted neighbours. I was shocked by the incident and, in the evening, called up my husband, who was out for an assignment. After discussing the matter with him, I decided to register a case,” the complainant said in the FIR.

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