Girl lured by promise of TV role, raped

Mumbai: Lured by the promise of an assignment as the lead actress in a TV serial, a 16-year-old girl was gang-raped in Mira Road last Friday. The police moved into action swiftly. In less than 24 hours after the girl registered a complaint on Monday, a police team led by PSI Mahesh Kuchekar and personnel Vijay Brahmne swung into action and arrested the two of the accused behind the crime on Tuesday afternoon.

The arrested have been identified as, Ammaya Rakesh Bhavsar (19) and Shubham Lalbihari Pathak (23), both residents of Mira Road. However, the third accomplice, Rajesh Rathod, alias Thaapa, who impersonated a model co-coordinator, is still at large.

In her complaint, the girl, who is a class IX dropout, said that on June 9, Bhavsar and Pathak asked her to accompany them to Gorai Beach in Borivali, where they promised to introduce her to an influential model coordinator, who would help her bag roles in TV serials.  At Gorai, after meeting Thaapa and his friends, the girl was allegedly forced to drink beer, which was spiked. In her semi-conscious state, she was molested by Thaapa in the car. She was then taken to an isolated spot in the Ramdev Park area of Mira Road and raped by the duo. They threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed anything to her family or police. But the girl mustered courage and approached the cops.

“Both the accused will be presented before the court on Wednesdy and a manhunt has been launched to nab their accomplice, who posed as a model coordinator to molest the girl,” said Senior Police Inspector Jagdish Shinde.