An incident of the brutal rape of a Hindu minor by Mohammad Imran Daraj was reported from Mumbai’s suburban area of Mira Bhayander. Mira Road’s Navghar Police registered an FIR against Daraj on 14 April. However, it has come to light that the crime occurred on 7 April, and Daraj had threatened the child not to reveal it to anyone.
Daraj ran a chicken shop near Orange Hospital and was known to the victim. He often lured the child with chocolates and biscuits despite objection from the girl’s father. Although the incident occurred on 7 April, it was only when the girl complained of stomach pain on 14 April that the crime came to light. When her father inquired, she told him what Khan had done to her a week ago and threatened her not to reveal this to anyone.
According to the complaint, the girl’s father is a barber near Daraj’s chicken shop. The girl’s mother is away at her maternal home, so her father cares for her. Learning of the mother’s absence, Daraj lured the child to his chicken shop, gave her chocolates, and forced himself on her. Daraj then threatened her using a huge knife and said that if she didn’t keep her mouth shut, then he would kill her. The scared girl kept quiet, but her father noticed changes in her behaviour.
“She was strangely quiet and not active as usual. I asked her a couple of times about what happened, but she didn’t say a word. Suddenly, on Sunday, 14 April, she complained that her stomach was aching. Initially, I thought it would be because of the heat or because she must have eaten something that didn’t suit her. But she continued complaining and began crying. Later I patiently asked her to know that the chicken shop owner had raped her, Khan,” notes the complaint.
The father informed his neighbours and took the child to the hospital before registering a complaint with the Navghar Police Station. Large-scale protests erupted in the Mira Road area on the evening of 14 April following the revelation of the incident that deeply upset the Hindu community and other local residents. Protesters demanded justice for the 4-year-old girl, carried placards and called for the death penalty for the accused. According to reports, the police resorted to a baton charge to manage the crowd. Subsequently, an FIR was registered regarding the incident.
The Police booked Daraj under sections 376 (rape), 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and sections 4, 8, and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. Sections 37 and 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951, have also been imposed on the accused. The child is presently undergoing treatment at the local hospital. Daraj has been arrested, and further police investigations are underway.
“Earlier, the Hindu population dominated this Mira Bhayander region, Nayanagar area. In the past few years, several Muslims from the Mumbra region or even from different cities migrated to this area, claiming their dominance. They eventually began harassing Hindus and their daughters, and now the situation has become worse. Even the police in such cases fail to take stringent action,” OpIndia quoted one of the members of Sakal Hindu Samaj as saying.
The member also expressed concern that the police often handle these cases as typical criminal incidents, which he believes results in lenient treatment for the accused Islamists. He emphasized the need for the police and local authorities to recognize the intentions of the Islamists when Hindu girls are targeted. Mira Road area is turning into an Islamist-dominated area where Hindus are targeted and attacked.
In March, a 4-year-old girl was raped by a 34-year-old Muslim man named Mohammad Appu, also known as Arman. The man, who is the brother of the girl’s tuition teacher, sexually assaulted her when she went to her tuition class, and the teacher wasn’t there. Appu even threatened her not to tell anyone about what happened. The terrible incident occurred on March 23 in the Pandav Nagar area of East Delhi.
(Featured Image Source: Latestly Marathi News)
