MUMBAI: Of the eight suspects arrested in the Sunday death of a Kalyan minor are a brother and sister who, her family said, had harassed the girl. The teenager's uncle alleged that the blackmail started when the siblings shot an objectionable video of the girl.
The family has claimed that the brother sexually exploited the girl while his sister circulated the video among the other six accused. The siblings, both aged between 18 and 20, live in the same building as the girl's family and were close to them.
This incident comes over six months after a 15-year-old girl from Dombivli was found to have been sexually exploited by at least 33 men over nine months.
In the latest case, after the girl was found dead, the siblings helped the girl's family take the body to hospital and complete police formalities. A police source said when they checked the girl's cellphone, they found it had been re-formatted. After recovery of missing data, two suicide notes, one written in 2018 and the second in 2022, were found, in which it was mentioned that she was being sexually harassed since 2018.
"That's when the family raised suspicion of the involvement of the siblings. They said the girl had been with the siblings until late Sunday evening," a police officer said, adding, "They have also said she could have been pushed by the duo."
The girl's uncle said he suspects the girl had a fight with the brother-sister duo. Another recent 'suicide' note written in 2022 found on the cellphone also states that the girl had twice tried to end her life when the alleged sexual harassment started. The girl's uncle claimed the family was unaware of all this. "She must have suffered this in silence all these years," he said, even as the girl's mother kept sobbing uncontrollably.
The other accused who have been arrested include college students and a photographer.
Police have slapped sections of abetment to suicide and molestation besides booking the accused under Pocso. An officer said they are awaiting the post-mortem report after which they will decide whether to book them for rape. A court in Kalyan has remanded the eight accused persons to six days in police custody.
Social activists and politicians visited the police station on Wednesday, demanding that the accused be severely punished. Chief of the state women's commission, Rupali Chakankar, has directed police to submit a detailed report of the incident to the commission. BJP legislator from Kalyan Ganpat Gaikwad has demanded that the case be fast-tracked.
