A 46-year-old man was arrested in Mumbai for allegedly sexually assaulting his teenage daughter for around five years at their home in the city's Mahalaxmi area. The man's crimes came to light after the 17-year-old victim went missing from their home on Wednesday. Unable to trace her, the accused approached the Tardeo police station and lodged a complaint alleging his daughter had been kidnapped.
Based on his complaint, police registered a case of kidnapping against an unidentified person and a search was launched for the teenager, according to police officials. However, during the probe, it turned out he had been allegedly sexually assaulting her for the last five years and she left home in Mumbai to escape the ordeal.
"The 17-year-old girl, fed up with her father's brutality, left home in Central Mumbai's Mahalaxmi area on Wednesday...During the search, a crime branch team found the girl at Mahalaxmi station on the Western Railway network. The girl was taken to a crime branch office, where during questioning, she revealed a shocking tale of repeated sexual abuse by her own father," news agency PTI reported quoting an official.
According to the official, the teenager told the police her father had been sexually assaulting her for the last five years.
Based on her complaint, a case of rape and other offences was lodged against the accused and he was booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the official said.
A crime branch team led by Police Inspector Sadanand Yerekar then started a search for the girl's father. He was later tracked down in the Saat Rasta Circle area and subsequently nabbed.
After his medical examination, the accused was handed over to the Tardeo police for further investigation into the case lodged against him, the official added.