In an outrageous and horrifying incident reported from the coastal area of Uttan near Bhayandar, a fifteen-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by three men at a fish drying area near the premises of a local fish cold storage facility.
According to the police, the three men involved in the dastardly act have been arrested and booked under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for gang-rape and under the provisions of the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The incident which has sent shockwaves in the quaint fishing villages was reported from the Patan-Bunder area when the girl was sitting with her friend on Tuesday night. The three men (name withheld) aged 24 to 26 years suddenly appeared at the spot and started abusing and manhandling both the girls who started screaming for help.
While one of the girls managed to flee herself from the clutches of the monsters, the 15-year-old was unsuccessful. The trio then sexually assaulted her after gagging her mouth when she resisted and tried to cry out for help. Meanwhile, the other girl reached her hamlet and informed local villagers who alerted the Uttan Coastal police station.
A police team immediately reached the spot, however, the trio had already fled after committing the crime. Based on eye-witness account and input from their informer network, the police team apprehended the trio who turned out to be migrant workers belonging to remote villages in the Mustabad area of Uttar Pradesh who stayed in the nearby Pali village and were employed as Khalasis (helpers on fishing boat) by local boat owners.
The trio were remanded to police custody till January 22 after they were produced before a designated POCSO court in Thane on Thursday. Further investigations were underway.
