A minor girl was allegedly gang-raped by 8 people, including a juvenile, in Gujarat’s Navsari district after being abducted at night. Police said all accused were known to the survivor and have been arrested. A case has been registered under POCSO.
A minor girl was allegedly gang-raped by eight people, including one juvenile, in Gujarat's Navsari district, police said. The incident happened after the girl stepped out of her house at night to answer nature’s call. All the accused, who are aged between 16 and 21 years, have been arrested, and a case has been registered under strict child protection laws.
The incident took place in a village around 20 kilometres from Vansda town in Navsari district. According to police, the girl belongs to the same village area as the accused, and most of them were known to her and her family.
The crime occurred late at night after the girl stepped out of her house. At the time, her family was asleep.
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The girl was allegedly abducted
Police said three of the accused, who were acquaintances of the victim, abducted her on a motorcycle. They allegedly took her to a check dam located about three kilometres away from her village.
Later, five other accused arrived at the same location in a car.
According to the complaint, the accused demanded physical relations from the girl. When she refused, one of them allegedly assaulted her.
Police said she was then forcibly taken to a room near a water tank. There, all eight accused allegedly took turns to rape her. Some of them allegedly restrained her by holding her hands and legs and threatened her with death if she spoke about the incident.
How the family found her
The girl’s family went to sleep around 8 pm. When her father woke up at about 10.30 pm, he noticed that she was not in her bed.
Family members searched for her in the village and nearby areas but could not find her. In the early hours of Thursday morning, they found the girl inside the family’s four-wheeler parked outside their home.
Out of fear, she did not knock on the door and instead slept inside the vehicle, police said.
After the girl narrated the incident to her parents, they approached the police. The Navsari Local Crime Branch arrested all eight accused on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Nikhil, Piyush, Uday, Ravindra, Akash, Rahul, Dharmeshbhai, and one minor. Police said all of them live in villages close to the survivor’s home.
Deputy Superintendent of Police BV Gohil of Chikhli Division said the girl’s medical examination has been completed.
“We will also ensure counselling for the survivor. Medical examinations of the accused will also be conducted,” he said.
He added that all the accused were known to the victim and her family.
Police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which deals with crimes against minors.
