Pune Rural Police has arrested four young men in connection with the rape of two minor girls from Baramati after allegedly forcefully making them drink liquor in the Hadapsar area on September 14, officials said on Friday. The accused have been identified as Dnyanshwar Atole (27), Yash alias Sonya Atole (21), Jay More (25), and Aniket Bangare (20).

Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Pankaj Deshmukh, Superintendent of Police, Pune Rural Police, said, "The accused and the victims are residents of the same village in Baramati. They are all aware of each other. On September 14, both victims left their home, informing their parents that they were going to a temple. However, the minor girls did not return home. Their mothers registered a missing complaint at the local police station on September 15."

"On September 16, one of the victims called her mother and told her that she was in Hadapsar. Accordingly, Baramati Police reached the said place and took custody of the minors. The girls did not disclose anything initially. However, while investigating, the girls narrated the whole story and said they had been raped after they were forced to consume alcohol," Deshmukh added.

Giving further details in the case, the SP said one of the girls had informed accused Atole that they were going to Hadapsar by bus. "He then alerted his accomplices in Hadapsar, and he too reached Hadapsar from Baramati. The man and his accomplices then took them to a room. For the next two days, they sexually assaulted the girls," Deshmukh said.

Meanwhile, two cases for offences under Section 70 (2), which refers to gang rape of a minor woman, of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 8 (sexual assault), 12 (sexual harassment), 14 (using child for pornographic purposes), and 16 (abetment of an offence) of POCSO Act have been registered.

Deshmukh said the police are conducting further investigation.

POSCO cases in Pune City:

2023 - 432

2024 (till August) - 376