7-yr-old girl gangraped in Maharashtra; 3 arrested

Thane: A seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped by three men in a dilapidated building near her school in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Monday.

The incident took place last Thursday following which the three accused, who sexually harassed the Class 2 girl on previous occasions also, were arrested, Bazarpeth police station's inspector Yeshwant Chavan said.

The accused, identified as Navin Jasuza (24), Ajay Dehare (34) and Vikram Purohit (19), worked at different shops in Kalyan town here.

On September 19, when the girl came out of her school, they took her to an abandoned building nearby and allegedly raped her, the official said.

The girl informed about the incident to her parents who lodged a complaint with police. Based on the complaint, the accused were arrested last Friday, he said.

They were later produced before a local court which remanded them in police custody till September 24. Prior to the incident of gangrape, the accused had been sexually harassing the girl, the official said.

The three men have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he added.