Thane: Thane police have booked a 20-year-old man on charges of raping a five-year-old on Sunday. Police said a case has been registered by Shanti Nagar police station under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 376, and a manhunt is on.
Police said the victim lives with her family in a hut in Bhiwandi. The accused who works in a textile loom is her neighbour lured the victim chocolates and raped her on Sunday morning.
Upon returning home, the child insisted her mother to give a bath which the latter ignored. The child which went out to play again returned home asking for a bath again. The incident came to light when the mother bathed the child.
The child's mother approached the Shanti Nagar police station and preferred a complaint.
"A case has been lodged under the POSCO Act and IPC Section 376. Search is underway for the absconding accused", said Yogesh Chawan, Deputy Commissioner of Police. The case is being further investigated by a women police officer.
A senior officer of the Shanti Nagar police station said, "the incident happened when the girl was playing outside her house on Sunday. The accused who is known to the child offered her chocolates and the unsuspecting child went with him. Unusually, the child kept asking for a bath. it is during the bath, the victim confided with her mother and named their neighbour as the culprit."
The officer said the accused is still at large and efforts are on to nab him. He said the child has been offered treatment at a government hospital.
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