Pune, 26th September 2024: As the Badlapur incident continues to stir the state, Pune has witnessed a disturbing case involving the molestation and rape of a minor and a college student.
One of the incidents, which has created widespread concern, came to light during a ‘Good Touch, Bad Touch’ awareness campaign organized by the Koregaon Park Police in the victim’s college. According to police, four individuals established contact with the girl through Instagram. Despite having no prior connection with each other, they manipulated her into sexual relationships on different occasions between April and September of 2024. The victim, unable to cope with the trauma, fell into depression and later sought counseling.
The Koregaon Park Police have arrested two individuals, identified as Om Adesh Gholap (20) and Swapnil Vikas Devkar (22), while two minors have also been taken into custody. The arrested adults have been remanded into police custody, and the minors have been sent to a juvenile detention center following a hearing before the Juvenile Justice Board.
According to the police, the investigation began after the victim disclosed her ordeal to a college counselor during the ‘Good Touch, Bad Touch’ awareness program. The victim had been under considerable mental stress and eventually revealed that she had been receiving harassing calls from various boys. During counseling, she narrated how she had met four different individuals on Instagram, who gradually coerced her into physical relationships. These incidents occurred on different dates and at different locations, leading to her deteriorating mental health.
The investigation team, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2) Smartana Patil, conducted a thorough probe, including medical examinations of the victim and the accused. The police also recovered CCTV footage from the crime scenes and seized the digital video recorder (DVR) for analysis. Technical investigations of the accused and victim’s phones are underway, with assistance from cybercrime experts.
The police have also conducted a detailed panchnama of the crime scenes and are continuing to investigate all possible connections between the accused. The minors involved in the case have been placed in juvenile custody, while further inquiries are ongoing.