Navi Mumbai: The Rabale police on Saturday night arrested the cousin brother of a 14-year-old girl for raping her twice in the last one month.
Manoj Gotpagaar (28), who ran a business of operating tourist vehicles, was arrested after the victim, who used to go for beautician training, told her ordeal to her trainer. The trainer then took her to Savitri Pratishthan Mahila Mandal and with its help they lodged a complaint at Rabale police station.
Hailing from Ahmednagar, the victim had lost her parents when she was six years old, and since then she has been staying with her relatives. She was brought to her accused cousin’s house in Ghansoli with the promise that he would send her to school.
On November 9, she came to Gotpagaar’s house where he lived with his wife and two daughters. Instead of admitting her to a school, she was sent to pursue a beautician course in a local beauty parlour. On November 15, at around 8.45 a.m., when Gotpagaar’s wife Sunita left to drop her younger daughter at nursery, the accused allegedly raped her. The accused then threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed the incident to anyone. Again on December 14, the accused raped her when he found her alone at home.
The accused was arrested under Section 376 of the IPC and Section 9 (l)(n) of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The writer is a freelance journalist
