Minor held in gangrape case sent to juvenile remand home

The minor arrested in a teenager's gangrape case was sent to a juvenile remand home by a court today, even as police teams left from Maharashtra to trace another accused outside the state.

An 18-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped on July 31 by five men, three of whom are already arrested in connection with the photojournalist's gangrape case.

"The 17-year-old accused, who was arrested in the case yesterday, was produced before a court today which sent him to a juvenile remand home," a police officer at the N M Joshi Marg police station said.

"Teams have gone outside Maharashtra to track down the accused Mohammed Ashfaq," the officer added.

Three other accused in the case were identified as Salim Ansari, Vijay Jadhav, Mohammed Qasim and Hafiz Shaikh alias 'Kasim Bangali', who are already in police crime branch custody in connection with August 22 photojournalist gangrape case.

According to the police, the victim, who was a telephone operator, had gone to the Mahalaxmi area on July 31 with her friend, when the culprits, adopted the same modus operandi used in the August 22 photojournalist gangrape case, by tricking the two and luring them to the dilapidated textile mill premises.

After the incident, the shocked victim did not go to her residence, but went to Chhattisgarh instead along with her friend by train and took shelter at their friend's house.

"Traumatised after the incident, they did not return home, but went to Chhattisgarh where the two got married in a temple after a few days," the police officer said.

However, the victim's mother was against her daughter's marriage to her boyfriend and termed the marriage "invalid".

On August 22 evening, a 23-year-old photojournalist was sexually assaulted at the defunct and deserted Shakti Mills compound in the Mahalaxmi area, after she went there on an assignment with a male colleague.

The journalist gangrape case is being probed by the Mumbai police crime branch, while the teenager's case is being investigated by the N M Joshi Marg police station.