Navi Mumbai: Case against man for raping teen whom he befriended on social media

Representational Image. Pic/iStock

The Navi Mumbai police have registered a case against a man for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl repeatedly following which she became pregnant, an official told news agency PTI on Monday.

The police said the accused, from Kamothe in Navi Mumbai, and the victim, resident of Turbhe area, got in touch with each other through social media platform Instagram in January 2021 and had an affair, reported PTI.

The accused allegedly raped the girl repeatedly at his residence following which she became pregnant in May 2023, an official from Kamothe police station told PTI.

The man's mother was aware of everything, but she did not object to the offence, he said.

Based on a complaint by the victim, the police on Sunday registered a case against the man and his mother under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act, the official told PTI.

Meanwhile, a seven-year-old girl was allegedly assaulted and injured by a man in Bhiwandi town of Maharashtra's Thane district, police told PTI on Sunday.

The police have arrested a 35-year-old man in connection with the crime that took place on August 24, an official told PTI.

The accused lived in the same residential building as the victim, he said.

The girl was on her way to a shop when the accused allegedly forcibly pulled her into his house and attempted to sexually assault her and outrage her modesty, the official told PTI.

The child somehow managed to escape and ran to her house on the upper floor of the building and raised an alarm, the official told PTI.

The residents caught hold of the accused and handed him over to the police, the official told PTI.

The child sustained injuries to her face and two of her teeth were broken in the attack. She informed her parents that the accused pulled her by her hair and banged her on the wall, the official told PTI.

The injured girl has been admitted to a hospital, he added.

A case under section 354 (assault or use of criminal force to a woman) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been registered against the accused who was previously booked for two offences and was out on bail, the official told PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)