Mumbai: Mumbai Police have arrested all six accused in the alleged gang-rape of a 15-year-old girl in the city's Powai area, officials said on Saturday, October 31, adding that the arrests were made within 24 hours of the survivor filing her complaint. The incident allegedly took place between October 27 and 28, the IANS news agency reported, citing police officials.

According to police, the main accused, along with four associates, allegedly lured the minor to an open, deserted plot behind a bakery shop on Saki Vihar Road, where she was allegedly sexually assaulted. In a separate but related incident, a sixth accused allegedly intercepted her near a pipeline in Powai and allegedly molested and sexually harassed her, officials said. These are police allegations at this stage and remain to be proved in court.

Complaint on October 29, FIR under BNS and POCSO

On the morning of October 29, the survivor, accompanied by her family, went to Powai Police Station and recounted the ordeal, officials said. Police immediately registered a First Information Report under Sections 64(1) and 74 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), with additional charges under Sections 4, 8 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Police teams then conducted raids at various locations and apprehended all the accused within 24 hours of receiving the complaint.

According to investigators, none of the six arrested individuals has a prior criminal record. The survivor has been sent to KEM Hospital in Mumbai for a medical examination. A thorough investigation is underway under the supervision of senior Mumbai Police personnel, officials said. The identity of the survivor is protected by law and is not being published. What happens next will turn on the medical and forensic evidence, the survivor's statement before a magistrate, and the chargesheet police file in the case.

Source: IANS