The Rabale MIDC police have arrested three youths for allegedly gang-raping a 19-year-old woman who asked them for help to find the nearest railway station.
The woman, who lives in Mumbra, got separated from her family members while boarding a crowded train at Kurla station on February 18. The family reported her missing to the Kurla railway police. The woman and the family sold ghee and utensils door to door. She got married just two months ago and is new to Mumbai, and so is not well-versed with train routes.
She managed to reach Mumbra station, but unable to find her family members, spent the night there. The next day, she reached Diva station. Since she had no money, she approached an elderly woman beggar and said she wanted to sell her nose pin for some cash. The woman took her near her hutment in Mahape, but she found no customer for the nose pin.
The victim left the place and approached an autorickshaw driver near Sai Sagar hotel chowk around 8.30 p.m. and requested him to drop her to the nearest railway station. “She narrated her ordeal and said she wanted to go to Nashik to her family. The man drove around for close to an hour,” Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone I, Pankaj Dahane said.
According to the police, the accused was probably searching for an isolated location. He took her to a dilapidated building in Mahape Bus Depot and raped her in the bathroom. The 21-year-old stole her gold earrings, nose pin and silver anklets and abandoned her near Ram Mandir.
“The woman walked around in search of help and noticed two youths on a two-wheeler. “She told them what had happened and asked them to take her to the nearest railway station. The youths, 19 and 20 years old, made her sit between them on the two-wheeler and stopped 300 metres away from Ghansoli station, near a pipeline. They took turns to rape her and then fled,” senior police inspector Nitin Gite from Rabale MIDC police station said.
The victim managed to reach Ghansoli station and travelled to Thane, from where she took a train to Nashik. She reached her uncle’s house and told him what had happened. Her uncle knew of the missing person complaint, and so took her to the Kurla railway police to file a case of gang rape. The case was transferred to the Rabale MIDC police station on Saturday.
“The victim was able to give us a description of the accused and the vehicles they used. We suspected they lived around Mahape, and traced the vehicles first and then the accused, and arrested them on Sunday. The vehicles were seized and the stolen jewellery recovered,” Assistant Commissioner of Police, Vashi division, Vinayak Vast said.
The youths have been arrested under sections of gang rape and robbery and have been remanded in police custody till February 29. Since the identification parade of the accused is yet to be completed, the police did not disclose their identities.
Published - February 26, 2020 01:31 am IST
