Three rape cases in city in last 72 hrs

MUMBAI: The city witnessed three cases of rapes in different parts in the last three days. The Santacruz police, on Saturday, arrested a 37-year-old man for allegedly raping his fouryear-old neighbour. In another incident, the Mulund police registered a case of gangrape after a 40-year-old ragpicker claimed that at least four youths raped her in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

In the third case, a minor girl accused her 20-year-old boyfriend of raping her after he backed out of an agreement to marry her, said police.

The four-year-old victim was allegedly raped by her neighbour when her mother stepped out of her house to buy milk on Thursday. “The accused, Sanjay Mohite, who noticed that the child was alone at home, barged inside. He sexually assaulted her and fled when he knew it was time for her mother to return,” said an official from the Santacruz police. “We made inquiries in the neighbourhood and picked up Mohite on Saturday,” said the official. The girl was subjected to a medical test and her condition is said to be stable.

In the Mulund case, the police said that the ragpicker was targeted in the early hours of Saturday. “The victim, who stays on the road, claimed that four youths took her to the national park and raped her turn-by-turn. The incident came to light on Saturday evening,” said an officer from Mulund police.