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Man rapes underage girlfriend in Matheran, 2 others film the act and share it on Instagram | Mumbai News

A 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped by one of her three friends with whom she went to a hotel in Matheran on July 12, while two others filmed the act and shared the video on social media, police said.

On Friday, police arrested a 22-year-old – one of the two friends who filmed the crime – and launched a manhunt for the main defendant, in his twenties, and the other friend, both of whom are on the run.

According to police, the girl’s minor friend and two of her male friends took her to Matheran on July 12 under false pretenses. All four live in the same area and know each other.

The girl told her parents that she would be away for two days because of her friend’s birthday.

According to the girl, one of the male friends raped her in the hotel in Matheran. The other two, including the girl’s underage boyfriend, filmed the act and shared the video on Instagram on July 14.

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When the girl’s relatives saw the video on Instagram, they informed her parents. When they asked the girl about the incident, she said that she was raped in Matheran but did not tell anyone because she was scared. The girl’s mother then filed a police complaint on Friday.

Based on the complaint, the police arrested one of the three accused. The main accused from Ghatkopar is still absconding. The victim’s minor friend has also been named as an accused in the case, a police official said.

Bhagwat Garande, senior inspector of Antop Hill police station, confirmed that one person has been arrested while police are trying to trace the other accused.

The accused were charged under sections 64 (rape), 65(1) (rape of a woman below 16 years of age), 137(2) (abduction), 3(5) (common intention), 3(6) (crime by several persons) of the Bhartiya Nyaay Sanhita (BNS) and 4 (sexual assault with penetration), 6 (aggravated sexual assault with penetration), 8 (sexual assault) and 12 (sexual harassment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

The police have also charged the accused under sections 67A (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) and 67B (publishing or transmitting material depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct) of the Information Technology Act.