19-year-old woman raped by three men in 2 separate incidents within two hours in Navi Mumbai; police arrests accused

Mumbai: A 19-year-old woman was allegedly raped by three men in two separate incidents within a span of two hours on the night of 19 February in Navi Mumbai, police said on Wednesday. All the three accused, including an autorickshaw driver, have been arrested. Narrating the sequence of events, a police officer said the victim had failed to board a train at suburban Ghatkopar on February 18 while she was with her relatives. The woman then boarded another train and reached Mumbra railway station in Thane district on 18 February night and slept at the station, he said. “On 19 February, she boarded another train and reached Diva station where she requested a woman beggar to help her in selling her nose ring for money. However, they couldn’t sell the ring till night,” he said. The woman then started walking the road with the hope to locate the Diva railway station. “At around 8:30 pm, she reached near a hotel and asked the auto driver to drop her at the nearest railway station. The auto-driver, however, took her to a dilapidated building in Mahape area in Navi Mumbai and raped her,” the officer said, adding that the accused left the woman near a temple in the area. Around 10 pm, the woman sought the help of two men who were riding a scooter in locating a nearby station, he said. “The duo made her seat on the two-wheeler, took her to an isolated area near Ghansoli and raped her,” the officer said quoting the complaint. A case of rape was registered on 23 February. The accused were arrested on the basis of the description given by the victim. The trio was remanded in police custody till 29 February.