Mumbai:
Over a fortnight after a 15-year-old girl was gang-raped by her friend and three of his friends, the sordid crime came to light on Wednesday, when her aunt received a video clip of the act on WhatsApp.
The boys had used the same clip to threaten the survivor into silence, but then they shared it with their friends on WhatsApp, after which the video went viral, eventually reaching the girl's aunt. The crime had taken place on November 8, when the girl's friend called her to his friend's house, saying he needed help with studies.
Waiting there were the four boys, all of whom are between 15 and 16 years and from the same neighbourhood and school as the girl, cops said. The boys made sure to call her there when no other family members were home. When she got there, they took turns raping her and recorded the whole act on their mobile phone.
The accused threatened to make the clip public if the survivor told anyone. However, one of the boys shared the video on WhatsApp, after which it quickly spread. The survivor's father had passed away, and her mother works abroad, so she lives with her sister, grandmother and aunt.
On Wednesday, the aunt was shocked to receive the same clip. She showed it to the girl, who broke down and narrated the ordeal. Her aunt immediately rushed to Malad police station and registered an FIR.
The police too swung into action and nabbed all the accused. They were booked under Section 376 (G) (gang rape) of the IPC, as well as under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The survivor's grandmother said, "The whole family is in trauma, but the police have supported us." "All four were produced before a juvenile court, after which they were sent to the Dongri correction home, where they will be questioned by a child welfare officer," said Senior Police Inspector S Sandbhor of Malad police station.
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Second incident in 5 daysThis was, in fact, the second such incident in Malad in a span of five days, with a 21-year-old also allegedly being gang-raped by her husband's colleagues. The woman used to live in Thakurli, Thane, with her husband and two children until recently.
They moved to Malad after her husband's friends said they had found a better paying job for him as a security guard in Malad. But on Diwali - November 11 - when her husband went out for night duty, two of his friends - Dhanbahadur Pirva (38) and Karan Bika (30) allegedly raped her.
She kept quiet about it as well, as they had threatened to kill her husband. But the next day, two other men - Jagat Bhaga and Kalamveer Pirva - turned up the same way and raped her, after which she told her husband everything, once he returned from night duty.
All four accused were arrested on November 17 under Section 376 (G) of the IPC. According to the cops, while Bhaga was a driver for a businessman, the other three were watchmen.