19-year-old girl escaped when they stopped at dhaba; cops suspect one of the men was exacting revenge against her for refusing his wedding proposal
In yet another incident that highlights the lack of safety for women in the city, a 19-year-old girl was abducted from the streets of Bhandup in broad daylight by six men, physically assaulted and molested. Fortunately, she was able to escape from their clutches and seek safety.
On Sunday, the survivor was abducted by six men around 7.45 pm from Mangatram, Bhandup by six men — later identified as Vijay Joshilkar (25), Anant Shivaji Wagh (25), Aniket Chandrakant Ghatge (25), Santosh Chandrakant Yadav (25), Hemant Mane (27) and Ravi Dilip Sonaar.
Cops said that prima facie, it appeared that the crime was committed as the teenager had refused Joshilkar’s wedding proposal and he wanted to exact revenge. According to the teen, after she was abducted, the six men constantly molested her in a Xylo. However, as night fell, the six of them stopped at a dhaba for dinner in Pen. It was then that the girl found an opportunity to escape.
Getaway
The teenager told the cops that when they reached Pen and took a break at a dhaba, five of the men left the car. Seizing her opportunity, she then pushed the sixth man and started to flee away from the car. After a few minutes, she found a female pedestrian on the road and hugged her. She then narrated her entire ordeal to the woman.
Soon, the five accused came running after her, but by then the woman and the teenager were able to call other locals from nearby, who then captured the accused and handed them over to the local Pen police authorities. The Pen police handed over the case to Bhandup police station, as the crime had occurred in their jurisdiction.
An officer from the Bhandup police station said, “When she ran to the female, five of the six men followed her. Later, after the pedestrian learnt about the incident, she called the locals and nabbed them.” He added that the sixth accused, who was left behind at the car, was later arrested from his Bhandup residence on Monday.
The six men have been booked under sections 363 (kidnapping), 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage), 354 (B) (D) (molestation) and 34 (common intention) of the IOC. They have been remanded to police custody till April 1.
