Mumbai: Three held as minor on morning walk is gang-raped

MUMBAI: A 17-year-old girl from Nalasopara, on a morning walk with five male friends, was allegedly raped by four persons, including a minor, on Saturday. She was tracked down by Tuling police hours later, after friends approached police. Three suspects have been arrested.
Her friends, who were thrashed and threatened, approached police, who tracked down the girl to a flat in Nalasopara (E) at night.The Std XI student has been admitted to hospital.
The main accused, who had two accomplices, all in their early 20s, told the girl to go with him. When she and her friends objected, the three assaulted them, and forced her into an auto at knifepoint. They drove to a fourth floor flat in Nalasopara, where the 17-yearold accused was. They took turns to rape her till 5pm, and then left, police said. Police tracked down the flat based on cellphone location. The three were arrested from different locations in Nalasopara on Sunday evening.
Police said the accused are believed to be drug addicts but it is unclear if the girl knew them. They said the role of the auto driver cannot be ruled out and they are obtaining his detail. The flat, which belongs to a suspect, has been seized.
The accused were booked under IPC sections 376 (2) (n), 376 (D) for gangrape, 377 (unnatural offences), 365 (kidnapping), 368 (wrongful confinement), 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention). Sections of Pocso Act were also applied. The minor was sent to a remand home.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
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