Pune: A 70-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping a minor girl suffering from cognitive disabilities in Loni Kalbhor.
The incident came to the light on January 22 when the victim's parents took her to a private hospital for a check-up as she missed her menstruation cycle and discovered that she was two months pregnant. The parents reported the matter to Loni Kalbhor police station, who then conducted an investigation that led to the arrest of the accused on Wednesday.
The accused has been identified as Eknath Khedekar, a resident of Khedekar Maala in Urali Kanchan. The accused allegedly raped the minor girl on the pretext of providing her eatables. According to the Loni Kalbhor police, the parents of the minor are daily wage labourers who used to leave for work in the morning and come back in the evening.
The accused took advantage of their absence and repeatedly raped the victim over a period of two months. The police have booked the accused under section 376 (rape) of the IPC and sections under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act.