Mumbai: Hearing and Speech-Impaired Minor Raped For Three Months; Accused Arrested

Mumbai, July 10: A hearing and speech-impaired minor was allegedly raped multiple times by a 20-year-old man in Mumbai for a period of three months in 2016. The incident came to light when the minor was 18 weeks pregnant. The man, Akhilesh Basfur, has been arrested from his residence in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday. Akhilesh was brought to Mumbai on Sunday. The police revealed that the accused used to work at a construction site near the victim’s residence.

“The minor’s mother had complained to the Borivali police in December 2016,” said an officer from the Kandivali crime branch to which the investigation was transferred in 2017, reports Mumbai Mirror. The police took some time to know the details of the case and the accused, due to victim’s disabilities and vulnerable condition. The officer said, “We roped in an expert sign linguist who won her trust and got the story out of her”.

“Since she could not raise a commotion, the accused easily overpowered her. He raped her at a secluded spot for over three months until his contract got over,” a senior officer said. The minor tried to explain her mother about the incident, but failed. When she complained of stomach ache and visited a doctor, her ordeal was revealed. Her pregnancy was terminated too. Based on the description given by the minor girl, the police zeroed in on Basfur. “Basfur has been identified by the victim, and will be handed over to the Borivali police with whom the FIR has been lodged,” said the acting incharge, Chimaji Adhav of Kandivali crime branch.

Sameer Sharma, an activist who works for deaf and mute children in Mumbai said, “We already have a very limited scope of conversation with disabled kids. If they are sexually molested, they retreat further into a shell. Kids with disabilities must be imparted with specific communication towards informing their elders and caregivers about sexual assault.”