A 16-year-old Dalit girl was abducted and raped in a moving vehicle in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, on Tuesday night. The police reported that the victim identified the suspect, Mohd Rashid, 30, through an identification card he had inadvertently left on the car’s dashboard. Rashid was apprehended on Friday evening after the survivor recounted the incident to her family, who subsequently filed a complaint with the local authorities.
According to Moradabad (rural) Superintendent of Police, Kunwar Akash Singh, Rashid works as a taxi driver and the car involved in the crime, which was borrowed, is currently in police custody. The survivor spotted the ID in the vehicle and provided this crucial information to her family, leading to Rashid’s arrest.
In the complaint, the girl’s father, who is a laborer, detailed that the incident took place while he was working and her mother was harvesting sugarcane in the fields. The teen had gone outside to dispose of garbage when Rashid allegedly forced her inside an SUV and assaulted her. The victim reported to the police that during the assault, the accused recorded a video before leaving her near a crematorium outside her village two hours later.
An FIR has been lodged under various sections, including BNS section 64 (rape), 137-2 (kidnapping), and 352 (intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace), in addition to relevant provisions of the SC/ST Act and the Pocso Act. SP Singh mentioned that once the girl informed her family, they acted swiftly and contacted the police. Investigations are ongoing to determine if there were any accomplices involved. The car has been confiscated, and Rashid’s mobile phone is being examined for additional evidence.
