The police have registered a case of rape, gang-rape, molestation. (Representational)
Eight people arrested for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl in Beed district in Maharashtra have been sent to five days police custody by a court in Ambejogai, an official said on Friday.
The eight, including a retired nayab tehsildar, a lodge owner, a police constable, a home guard, were held on Wednesday and produced in court on Thursday, the official said, adding that 23 people have been arrested in the case so far.
The victim has claimed she was married off at the age of 13 but left her husband as he was exploitative and returned home, which she left this May after her father allegedly molested her, the official said.
"She has said she stayed near Ambejogai bus stand after leaving home before being rescued. She has claimed she was raped by over 400 men, including two policemen, in the last two months. All the claims are being probed," he said.
The Ambajogai police have registered a case of rape, gang-rape, molestation, and voluntarily causing hurt, besides invoking sections of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he added.