Mumbai: Driver rapes teen, gets arrested

Mumbai: A 27-year-old cab driver allegedly raped a mentally unstable teenager on Thursday evening on the backroad of Millat Nagar, Andheri east. The accused, Amit Sharma (27), who was working as a driver with a private cab service, was arrested by Oshiwara police late on Thursday.

According to police sources, the incident took place after 9 pm on Thursday when the 16-year-old victim was on her way back home from watching the Dusshera celebrations in a nearby ground. Police said since the girl was mentally unstable, she would often approach unknown people and ask for money, only this time it landed her right in Sharma’s net. When Sharma saw the victim loitering in the dimly lit area, he pounced on the chance, abducted her in an autorickshaw, took her to a secluded spot and raped her.

A police official said after



Sharma raped her, he also physically assaulted her by slapping her repeatedly, after which she was let go of. After the incident, the victim described the incident to her parents, who registered a complaint against Sharma. The official added, “Since Sharma was nowhere to be traced, we detained his father for questioning, after which he surrendered to the police. He has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to rape (section 376), kidnapping (section 363) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.”

This incident comes just 24 hours after a 30-year-old tempo driver, Siraj Mehandi Hasan Khan, was arrested late on Wednesday for raping an 11-year-old girl on Tuesday evening in Jari Mari, Andheri (E). The accused forced the victim into his tempo carrier and raped her there.