35-year-old held for raping minor over 4 years

A 32-year-old man was arrested on Monday by the Antop Hill police for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl for over four months. The accused was nabbed after a friend of the victim coaxed her to reveal the identity of the accused to the police.

According to the police, the matter came to light after the parents of the victim took her to a doctor for an abortion in March. The doctor, however, refused to carry out the abortion and referred them to Somaiyya hospital. "We were informed by the hospital authorities about a pregnant minor girl. Our team ten recorded her statement," said an officer from Antop Hill police station. He added: "The girl had cooked up a story and told us that she had gone to play in the garden of a residential complex at SS Nagar near her slums. There, an unknown person approached her and kept a handkerchief on her mouth after which she became unconscious. She said that she regained consciousness after an hour but does not remember what happened in between."

The police later went to the garden and found something amiss. "She told us that she sneaked into the garden by jumping over the wall. But the garden wall is high enough for a girl to cross over. We also found that the garden was guarded well with a watchman, floodlights and it was surrounded by buildings," said the officer. "So it was impossible that a crime like rape would have happened there without someone noticing it."

When the police started making inquiries with the victim's friends, they were directed to the victim's close friend by a boy who reportedly loved her. "Initially, the victim lied to her friend too; but later when she coaxed her, the victim revealed the identity of the accused to her friend."

The accused was identified as Hemraj Nukumb, who was from the victim's village. Nukumb, a resident of Dharavi, was a roadside ice- ream seller and would often visit the victim's house as he knew her parents. "We arrested Nukumb on Monday and came to know that he would visit the girl's house when her parents were away," said the officer.

The police booked Nukumb under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections of 376 (punishment for rape) and under relevant sections of Protections of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Nukumb was produced before the court and has been remanded in police custody till April 9.