Pune: Pune Police arrested two men for raping and threatening underage girls in separate incidents in the Chandan Nagar area, officials announced on Tuesday.
Both the accused face charges under the relevant sections of the BNS and the POCSO Act of 2012. The Pune City Commissioner of Police, Amitesh Kumar, has now ordered his officers to prioritise all cases involving crimes against minors.
In the first case, police arrested 27-year-old Balaji Gurunath Swami from Yerawada. Police said that they found evidence that Swami knew the victim was a minor. He trapped her and sexually assaulted her multiple times.
According to the complaint, when the girl’s mother found out and questioned him, Swami allegedly barged into their home and threatened to kill the girl’s parents. Assistant Police Inspector Vikas Babar is leading this investigation.
In the second case, police arrested 27-year-old Hrithik Raosaheb Lonke from Wadgaon Sheri. Lonke allegedly lured a minor girl with the promise of marriage and assaulted her. The girl’s aunt found out and questioned Lonke about his actions.
Police said that Lonke then threatened to leak the girl’s pictures on social media if he was not allowed to speak to her. The girl filed a police complaint, and officers arrested Lonke.
Similar crimes are being reported in other nearby areas. Police recently registered two separate cases of abduction in Wagholi and Hadapsar.
In these cases, suspects lured young girls away with false promises of marriage. City police are now treating all such complaints with the highest urgency to protect young girls.
