Maharashtra: Youth held for raping 16-year-old girl

Palghar (Maha), July 1: A 25 year old youth from Nalla Sopara in the district has been arrested on the charge of raping a teenage girl, police said today.

The accused identified as Ripu alias Sandeep Rajendra Prasad Yadav had befriended the girl on a social networking site Facebook and raped her on the false promise of helping her to become a model.

The alleged crime had taken place in April this year and the accused was arrested on June 28 after the victim lodged a complaint with Tulinj police station here.

"The youth met and befriended the victim, a 16-year-old school girl, on Facebook. He promised to help her become a model," Inspector Prakash Birajdar of Tulinj police station said.

Yadav called her to the a place in Nalla Sopara with documents and then took her in a vehicle with the help of his friend. She was taken to a lodge, where she was offered a spiked drink. When she fell unconscious, he raped her," the officer said quoting the complaint.

Later, he started black-mailing her and made a demand of Rs 45,000, threatening that if she does not pay the money, he would post objectionable pictures and videos of her and make it viral on the social media. He also threatened to kill her and her family members.

The accused has been charged under IPC sections 376 (rape), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence), 320 (grievous hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and also under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) as well as the IT Act, 2000, the officer said. Further investigation is on.

PTI