Mumbai, August 05: Mili Wadhva (name changed) left her house on Saturday afternoon to meet her boyfriend and his friends to kick-start the Friendship Day celebrations a day in advance. The next day the 15-year-old girl was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her house at Laxmibai Chheda Nagar in Nalasopara.
The teenager was allegedly gang-raped by her boyfriend and his three friends, who were arrested by the Nalasopara police on Monday. The police said that Wadhva lived with her mother, sister and brother; her father works in Afghanistan. After failing her SSC exams, Wadhva had enrolled with a private coaching class.
According to the police, the victim left from her house on Saturday around 4 pm saying that she was going for her classes. However, she called one of her friends, saying that she would be going out with her boyfriend and his group as they wanted to celebrate Friendship Day with her.
When she didn’t return till early Sunday morning, Wadhva’s mother panicked and went out looking for her. In the meantime, the victim came home but went unnoticed since her younger brother, who was the only one at home, was taking a bath. She then hung herself from the ceiling fan using a nylon rope.
Investigations revealed that Wadhva had gone out with her boyfriend Rayan D’Souza, 22, and his friends Ravindra, alias Prem Shinwar, 20, Rajkumar Yadav, 19, Amol Shejal, 22 — all residents of Laxmibai Chheda Nagar and members of a local orchestra.
According to the police, the youngsters picked up the girl in a blue Maruti Esteem (MH 04 AC 6489) and took her to Sun Fiesta, a theatre. The unsuspecting victim was then taken to a desolate place where she was allegedly gang-raped. They then dropped her near her home. Unable to bear the trauma, Wadhva ended her life, the police said.
Assistant inspector, Vishwajeet Bulbule, said, “We may apply charges of abetment of suicide to the arrested persons.” Shocked by the news, Wadhva’s neighbours said that she was very well-behaved and reserved by nature.
–Agencies–