Mumbai: 18-year-old boy arrested for sexually assaulting 6-year-old girl in Vakola

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Mumbai Police on Thursday nabbed a teenaged boy for allegedly sexually assaulting a 6-year-od girl in Vakola area of the western part of Mumbai, a police official said on Thursday, according to the PTI.

The incident took place on Wednesday when the girl was on her way to the toilet, the Vakola police station official said.

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"The 18-year-old accused allegedly inserted his finger into her private parts. After she narrated her ordeal to her parents, a police case was filed for rape and other offences under the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act," the official told the PTI.

He was arrested and remanded in police custody for four days, the official added.

Meanwhile, in an another incident, a 14-year-old mentally challenged girl allegedly became the victim of a dreadful case of sexual assault while inside a moving taxi, sources said on Wednesday.

Official sources said that the victim, who suffers from mental disabilities, was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted while traveling in the taxi.

Further information has come to light, indicating that after the assault, the perpetrators abandoned the victim in the Malwani locality of Malad. In response to this disturbing incident, the Malabar Hill Police have taken into custody two individuals who were identified as Salman Sheikh and the taxi driver, Prakash Pandey.

Sources added that the two suspects were known to each other. They dropped her off at Vakola and the victim somehow managed to reach Malwani area where she was found by the police.

Police sources further said that the taxi driver allegedly played a role in assisting the accused, leading to his apprehension as well.

In light of this heinous act, the police have filed charges against the accused under IPC Section 376 and the relevant provisions of the POCSO Act.

The minor resides in south Mumbai and had left her home due to undisclosed issue, prompting her family to report her as missing to the police, sources said.

According to sources, she departed her residence on Monday at approximately 2:30 am and hailed a taxi to Dadar. It was during this journey that the accused, Shaikh, managed to enter the taxi and sexually assaulted her.

The police officials are currently conducting an investigation to determine how the accused gained access to the taxi and what involvement, if any, the taxi driver had in this distressing incident.

A senior officer of the Mumbai police said, "The accused have been arrested, and further investigation is underway."

(with PTI inputs)