Mentally challenged teen raped, impregnated; one held

A man named Saharul Islam Abdul Wahid Lashkar urf Shahrukh (26) was arrested for allegedly raping a mentally challenged teenage girl in March. According to the police, the victim’s father lodged a complaint on Thursday after the parents found that she was pregnant. Special Judge SH Gawali has sent the man to police custody for seven days.

A case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 376 (2)(L) and Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 Sections 3, 4, 5, (J)(2), (K)(L), 6 was filed against Shahrukh at the Kothrud police station. The girl is eighteen months pregnant, said senior police inspector Raghunath Phuge.

The victim studies at a school meant for specially-abled children in Kothrud. The parents of the teen were unaware of the incident until they found that she was pregnant. The parents of the girl suspected something amiss when they found her vomiting, said assistant police inspector and investigation officer Payal Panchabhai. Her parents approached the police with medical reports from Sassoon General Hospital and a private clinic, both confirming pregnancy, said API Panchabhai.  

While Public Prosecutor Shubhangi Deshmukh presented the case, the defence lawyer claimed that the girl uttered ‘Shahrukh’s’ name as she met him frequently. However, API Panchabhai claimed that the victim recognised the man by his face at the Kothrud police station.

The initial police report of the girl being speech and hearing impaired was wrong and necessary changes were made to the crime report submitted to the court.

The suspect is a 26-year-old married man from Silchur in Assam and works at a garage near the house of the teen. The garage where Shahrukh works is a few hundred metres from the girl’s house and a few steps away from the building where he raped her, the police said. 

According to the complaint, Shahrukh committed the crime after taking her to a dilapidated bungalow in Kothrud with a fake promise of giving her money, according to the police.

“He lured her to go with him to the building’s terrace in exchange of money. She was unware of his intentions,” said API Panchabhai.

The police are investigating whether the neighbourhood residents were aware of people regularly visiting the building premises and whether the suspect sexually assaulted the victim more than once,.