Mentally-challenged girl claims she was raped outside south Mumbai station

Mumbai: In a shocking incident, a 22-year-old mentally challenged girl was allegedly gang-raped outside the Churchgate railway station in South Mumbai early on Monday morning. The incident came to the light when the Bhabha hospital authorities informed the police on April 29 about it. “Subsequently, we took the statements of the victim and has registered a case of gang-rape,” Eknath Jadhav, senior police inspector told Firstpost. According to the Mumbai’s Government Railway Police (GRP), the victim claimed that she was sitting on the staircase inside the subway leading to the Churchgate railway station when four to five people waylaid her to bushes near the station and raped her. The incident took place between 2 am to 3 am on 28 April. [caption id=“attachment_1503655” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Protests against rape in Delhi. Representational image. Agencies.[/caption] Jadhav added that the victim has claimed that she kept roaming in the area for a day after she was assaulted and then boarded a train to return to her home in Kandivali (E) the next day. “The victim met a lady in train who inquired about her condition and she narrated what happened to her. The lady, friend of a social worker, helped the victim to get admitted in Bhabha hospital,” said Jadhav adding that the victim is often changing her statements about the crime spots and her age. The victim’s father is a watchman and her mother does odd jobs . The victim’s family resides in Haridev Yadav chawl, Hanuman Nagar in Kadivali (E) in suburban Mumbai. “Though the victim had told the social worker that she was a minor, her father told the police that she is 22 years old. Based on the victim’s statement, we have also added the sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in the case,” Jadhav said adding that the police has written to the Bhabha hospital authorities seeking her medical report to ascertain the alleged gang-rape incident. They have also sought the hospital’s help to confirm her age. While the case is presently being probed by Mumbai’s Government Railway Police (GRP), it will be transferred to the Mumbai Police, if the medical reports confirm rape. “To get more details about the incident, we have looked at the CCTV footage from inside the subway but it neither shows the victim nor the accused,” said Jadhav. Meanwhile, a student group from the KC college had complained to the GRP and the local police about nuisance created by a wine shop inside the subway where people buy alcohol and drink it in front of the shop after 10 pm everyday. “The alleged gang-rape incident is very sad and the government authorities should be held responsible for it. Despite making repeated complaints to them, they have failed to take any action on it and continued to pass the buck over the jurisdiction. It is the state government’s responsibility to ensure the safety of the citizens,” said Dharam Mishra, a student of KC College students and activists of Youth wing of Shiv Sena, who complained to the government authorities.