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Maharashtra Police: No political connection in Dombivli gang rape case

ACP Sonali Dhule (Photo/ANI)

ACP Sonali Dhule (Photo/ANI)

Thane (Maharashtra) (India), September 24 (ANI): No prima facie political nexus could be found in the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl in Dombivli area of ​​Thane district in Maharashtra, Thane Deputy Commissioner of Police Sonali Dhole said on Friday.

Dhole, who is also the head of the SIT investigating the case, briefed the media on the status of the investigation and said that the victim’s condition was now stable.

“So far, 28 of the 33 identified defendants have been arrested, two of whom are minors. The victim’s condition is stable. She knew the defendant through social media. So far, no political connection has been established in the case,” she said.

She also stated that all of the defendants were either “friends or friends of friends” of the victim.

Thirty-three people have been charged with raping a 15-year-old girl several times over a period of nine months in the Dombivli area of ​​Thane district in Maharashtra.

Police said two of the 28 accused arrested were minors and had been sent to a juvenile detention centre in Bhiwandi.

Based on the minor’s complaint, police said a case was registered under “Sections 376 (Rape), 376 (N), 376 (3), 376 (D) (A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act”.

In January of this year, the victim was allegedly raped by her “friends,” who subsequently filmed the crime and used the scene to blackmail and rape her again.

“The video was then distributed among other friends and acquaintances of the defendant, who also used it to blackmail the teenager and rape her several times,” police said.

The case came to light after the victim told his aunt about it, and charges were filed against the accused.

“The victim knew almost all of the attackers,” police said. (ANI)