A constable was arrested in Jalgaon on Tuesday on charges of raping a 17-year-old girl on the pretext of marrying her.
Ganesh Vishram Patil, 27, allegedly raped the girl inside the police headquarters in Jalgaon on September 5. The victim reported the matter on Monday night.
Police said this could be the first case in Maharashtra where a policeman has been arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Patil joined the force in 2006 and was posted at the Jalgaon police headquarters.
S Jayakumar, Jalgaon SP, said the victim, a student, used to frequent the police welfare swimming pool inside the headquarters for the past few years. “But outsiders had been stopped from using the pool for the past one year as there were no safety staff.”
“Patil got to know the victim during swimming classes,” Jayakumar said. The officer said the victim and her relatives visited his office complaining about Patil. “The victim accused Patil of raping her on September 5. Our preliminary inquiry has revealed both knew each other. Patil had promised to divorce his wife and marry the girl once she became an adult. But he had no intentions of marrying her,” Jayakumar said.
Patil, booked under various sections of POCSO, was remanded in police custody till September 21. “We are collecting witness statements and the matter is being investigated by officers of the Zilla Peth police station in Jalgaon,” he said.
What is POCSO?
The Act defines a child as any person below 18 and regards the best interests and well being of the child as being of paramount importance at every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child. It defines various forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography.
People who traffick children for sexual purposes are punishable under the provisions relating to abetment in the act.
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