Vakola man held for raping neighbour's 7-year-old daughter

The crime branch has arrested a 42-year-old man on the charge of raping his neighbour's 7-year-old daughter for the past one month. The accused and the child are residents of Vakola.

Atul Kulkarni, joint commissioner of police (crime) said the girl's father had approached the police on March 27 alleging that the neighbour had sexually abused his daughter. Accordingly, the Vakola police registered a case against the man, who works with a local cable operator.

Since the accused had gone into hiding, the unit VIII of the crime branch initiated a parallel probe, said additional commissioner of police KMM Prasanna.

"We had received specific information that the accused was planning to board a train for Gujarat from Borivli railway station. A trap was laid and the suspect was apprehended around 5pm on Saturday (March 28)," said inspector Deepak Phatangre.

Inspector Sunil Mane said the man used to abuse the child whenever her parents were out for work. He has been booked under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act.