Alert teacher helps teen to get ‘rapist’ cousin arrested

Mumbai: Alert teachers from a well-known Navi Mumbai international school helped a 14-year-old female student lodge a complaint against her cousin (19), who had been allegedly sexually assaulting her for a year, with the Sanpada police.

The complaint under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was lodged after the girl told her teachers that her cousin had been raping her repeatedly for the past one year. The Sanpada police arrested the cousin by evening under section 376, which deals with rape, of the Indian Penal Code and sections of POCSO.

According to the police, a teacher called up the Sanpada police and narrated the incident. The teenager, who was from her class, had confided in her best friend about how her cousin raped her many times at night at home. A police team, including some female constables, visited the girl and gave her confidence to speak about what had happened to her.

A police officer said, “The victim lost her father two years ago. Her uncle then brought her to Navi Mumbai to his house for her studies. She and her uncle’s son had separate rooms in the house.”

The cousin, an engineering student, used to help the girl in her studies, but would allegedly slip into her bedroom later and force himself on her.

The officer added, “The girl was tired of being forced by her cousin every night after his parents went to sleep and confided in her best friend at school. The friend told their class teacher, who then proceeded to file a complaint against the accused.”