A 17-year-old girl living in the Karjat town of Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra registered a police complaint against two Muslim boys of allegedly raping and torturing her. As per the police complaint, the accused have been identified as Ajju Sheikh and Raju Sheikh. The police teams are trying to locate them as they are absconding for now.
A First Information Report (number–221/2023) was registered at the Karjat police station of the Ahmednagar district on April 20.
As per the FIR, the minor girl told the police that, the incident happened on April 7 this year. On April 7, the mother and brother of the victim had gone to the market. The accused, whom the victim knew already, grabbed the opportunity and barged into her home.
Both Ajju and Raju Sheikh the accused took turns raping the minor girl. They are brothers and own a small mutton shop. The victim knew the duo as she would usually buy mutton from their shop.
The victim’s statement in the FIR reads, “My mother and brother had gone for the weekly market fair in the nearby area. Ajju and Raju Sheikh then arrived on the motorbike and they first asked me for water. I knew them so I offered water. Later Ajju pushed me and closed the door from inside. He tore my clothes, tied me, filled my mouth with cloth pieces and established sexual relations with me without my will. Then he went out and sent Raju in. He also raped me”.
After the said incident, the accused threatened the minor girl of killing her family members if she dare spoke a word about this. The victim was frightened and did not say a word to her mother or brother when they returned. She also burnt the clothes that she was wearing that day when the incident happened.
The victim ultimately spoke up when she was observing severe stomach ache. The girl and her mother travelled to their native place in the Yavatmal district where she revealed what happened to her in Karjat.
As per a report by OpIndia, the victim said that “We have come back to Karjat and have resumed our jobs. We are poor and will die of hunger if we don’t work. The Police have booked the duo but no arrests have been made so far,” the girl said.
On asking about her safety in Karjat, she said that the two accused are not there and that they have not been seen in the area since the complaint has been filed. The girl indicated that the accused were absconding since the day they were booked in the case.
So far no arrests have been made by the police in the case.
As per the FIR, the accused have been booked under IPC sections 376 (rape), 376 D (raped by one or more persons), 452 (house trespass) and 506 (criminal intimidation) and also under sections 3A, 4, 5G, 6, 3(1)(r) and 3(2)(v) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
Organiser tried contacting the Station House Officer (SHO) at the Karjat police station but the calls went unanswered.
