A 16-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped by 10 persons for over six months in Maharashtra’s Solapur district. The incident came to light after some locals saw the girl crying outside a temple in the city on Tuesday and alerted the police.
According to the police, five of the accused have been arrested under Indian Penal Code Section 376-D (gangrape) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual offences Act (POCSO) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
“The girl was disturbed, but after the police took her into confidence, she narrated the ordeal. A case was subsequently registered and five out of the 10 accused were arrested,” Solapur police said.
According to the police, the girl and some of the accused were friends. They were later joined by other accomplices in the crime. The accused, among whom some are auto-rickshaw drivers, forcefully took her to various places over six months and allegedly raped her, the official said.
Police registered a case against all the accused at Vijapur Naka police station and search for the other accused on the run, is on.
The survivor’s father passed away sometime back and she was staying with her mother, who did odd jobs to earn livelihood, the police added.