Girl with hearing disability raped

A 16-year-old partially hearing impaired girl was being raped repeatedly for a few months by a mechanic working in a nearby garage in Pune. The incident came to light when the girl became pregnant. Pune police on Thursday arrested the man under POCSO Act.

According to sources, the 16-year-old girl lives with her father who is visually challenged at Baltarun Mandal Slum in Kothrud area in Pune. She used to sweep the nearby area every morning. The accused Saharul Islam Abdul Vahid Lashkar aka Shahrukh (26) works as a mechanic at Sri Automobile garage near the Baltarun Mandal slum.

The accused used to take the deaf and mute girl to a nearby guava garden or the nearby abandoned bungalow, belonging to Ravi More.

He used to offer her Rs 100 once in 3-4 days and used to take her to these places where he would rape her.

The matter was under wraps till the girl started to have stomach aches last week.

Her father took her to a doctor who revealed that the girl is four-months pregnant.

Later, the father asked the girl about her pregnancy and she spilled the beans. The father then approached Kothrud police station and lodged an FIR against the mechanic.

Raghunath Phuge, police inspector, Kothrud police station, said, “A 50-yearold visually impaired father, who does not work, has lodged an FIR against the mechanic called Shahrukh who originally hails from Assam but works in a garage here. Since the girl is deaf and mute she is unable to explain the incidents. We are trying to find out whether she was being raped after getting pregnant as well with the help of women social workers.”

He added, “We immediately arrested the accused under Indian Penal Code 376 for rape, relevant sections of Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act 2012 (POCSO).

He was produced before the court and was remanded in one week police custody.”