Mumbai: Teens 'rape' pregnant woman

MUMBAI: A pregnant woman alleged that six teenaged boys, including three minors, barged into her house, assaulted her husband and then raped her after she accidentally spat paan on them from her third-floor house in Subhash Nagar, Bhandup.

The police, however, raised doubts over the allegations saying neither the circumstantial evidence nor the main witness corroborated the victim’s version.

The woman, who has been admitted to Rajawadi Hospital, is in the business of selling utensils in exchange of old clothes. Acting on her complaint, the Bhandup police arrested all six boys and booked them for assault and rape. They were waiting for the medical reports.

While three of the accused have been identified as Suraj Shankar (19), Santosh Pawar (20) and Shanu Gowda (20), the others are minors who have been sent to juvenile custody.

The woman alleged that while two of the six boys raped her, the other four assaulted her husband and tied her inside a room, said Prakash Jadhav, senior inspector at the Bhandup police station.

According to the victim, the incident took place around 5.30 pm on Sunday while she was watching TV at home. As she used to chew paan, she went to the window and spat it out. The boys, who were downstairs, abused her. In retaliation, she and her husband shouted back, which angered the boys, said DCP (Zone VII) Rajkumar Whatkar.

"The boys barged into our house. When I objected, they beat me up. I fell unconscious, after which they took turns to rape my wife," the victim’s husband alleged. The police, though, are not yet convinced.

The main witness—the family’s immediate neighbour—rubbished the allegation of rape but said the boys assaulted and molested the woman. "The prime witness said the boys abused and assaulted the couple but did not rape the woman. Why would the witness go against his neighbours, in favour of the accused?" asked a senior police officer.


Courtesy:timesofindia.com
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