Minors lured into marriage, raped for months; Accused detained from Pune

Mumbai: Just two days after two men in their early 20s were arrested for allegedly gang-raping a 15-year-old in Palghar district, another 29-year-old was arrested by the Mira Bhayandar Central Crime Branch Unit (CCU) – Vasai Virar Police (MBVV) for almost four months of raping an underage girl under the pretext of marriage.

According to police, the accused, identified as Dhirajkumar Balkrishna Laddha (29), got the 17-year-old girl into a romantic relationship and raped her repeatedly between January and April by promising to marry her after she turned 18 marry. When the girl refused to continue the physical relationship, the defendant attacked the girl and her mother. An offense under relevant sections of the IPC for Rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act-2012 was registered against Laddha by the girl’s mother on May 7 at Arnala coastal police station in Virar.

Recognizing the seriousness of the offense, the CCU employees were tasked with catching the perpetrator as quickly as possible. A team led by API-Dattatray Sarak under the supervision of Police Inspector Rahul Raakh and DCP (Crime) Avinash Ambure collected information about the accused and arrested him based on electronic surveillance within 24 hours of the offense being recorded in Kondhwa district of Pune . While the accused, who lives in Tilak Nagar area of ​​Pune, has confessed to his crime, police said, his custody has been handed over to the Arnala coastal police who are conducting further investigation.

Published on: Wednesday, May 8, 2024 04:11 PM IST