• Source:JND
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Mumbai Crime: Three brothers running a coaching centre in South Mumbai have been charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl over a period of nearly two years. The police have arrested two of the brothers, aged 24 and 25, while the eldest, aged 27, remains at large.

The victim reported that the brothers forced her to arrive at the coaching centre early and leave late, where they repeatedly abused her. The case came to light after officials from a child development centre were approached by the girl in March this year. Following her consultation with a counsellor, the centre contacted the police on Friday, leading to the registration of a formal complaint.

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Police stated that the accused Gautam, Tarun Rajpurohit and Satya Raj not only sexually assaulted the victim but also showed her explicit images and videos. Gautam and Tarun Rajpurohit were arrested on September 28 and remain in custody until Monday. Efforts are underway to apprehend Satya Raj.

According to a Indian Express report, the brothers operated a coaching centre that served 35-40 girls from Class 7 to 12. The victim had enrolled in the centre in 2022 after moving in with her mother following her parents' divorce. Struggling to adjust in her new school, she became increasingly withdrawn. Her mother noticed changes in her behaviour by late 2022 and enrolled her in the child development centre in January 2023.

Though the girl attended the centre for about four months, she stopped going in May 2023 but returned in February 2024. It was during this time that she confided in the counsellor about the ongoing abuse, requesting not to inform her mother due to fears of social stigma. She ceased attending the coaching classes in March.

Despite the girl's initial reluctance to involve the police, the counsellor ultimately informed her mother of the situation. Both mother and daughter initially declined to file a police complaint. However, officials from the child development centre took the matter to the police, leading to charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including molestation, rape, unnatural sex and criminal intimidation, as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012.

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After the filing of the First Information Report (FIR), the police recorded statements from both the girl and her mother. The two arrested brothers were subsequently presented in court and remanded into police custody. Efforts are ongoing to locate the eldest brother.

According to the police, the brothers had been assaulting the girl since 2022. The complaint details how the 25-year-old brother had befriended the victim by messaging her frequently, showing sympathy for her family's situation and taking her out to the movies. During one outing, he allegedly touched her inappropriately, which made her uncomfortable.

During counselling, the girl revealed that the other two brothers had also assaulted her multiple times at the coaching centre. Police indicated that they are investigating whether the brothers targeted other students at the centre, given the number of girls enrolled.