A 20-year-old youth has been arrested for allegedly raping an 11-year-old girl who lives in his neighbourhood, at his residence in Mumbra in the Thane district on Saturday evening. The Mumbra police has arrested the accused on rape charges and gained his police custody from a magistrate’s court.
According to the Mumbra police, the accused and the victim are neighbours and live in the Amrut Nagar area of Mumbra. The accused, identified as Babloo Mustafa Shaikh, knew the victim since the last few years.
Shaikh lives with his brother and his mother. The incident took place at Shaikh’s residence at around 5.30 pm when his mother and brother were not at home.
The victim was returning home from school when Shaikh invited her to his residence. When she refused, he forcibly took her inside and raped her. The victim then went home and confided in her mother about the incident, and her parents took her to the Mumbra police station.
Investigating officer, assistant police inspector N.H. Jadhav said, “We registered a case of rape against Shaikh under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, and under Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.”
He added, “Shaikh was produced in a holiday court on Sunday and has been remanded to police custody for four days. The girl is presently in a hospital for a check up and her medical report is awaited.”
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‘Must promote eco-friendly cremations’
Mumbai, July 7: There is a need to promote eco-friendly cremations using LPG as mode of fuel, according to environmental activist Vijay Limaye.
“LPG is readily available and does not cause pollution. The facility should be made available at every crematorium across India so that we save trees for our future generations,” Mr Limaye said.
Every year, over 4.5 million people are cremated using wood as fuel in the country, he said. “To fulfil this need, 4.5 million trees of around 20 years of age are cut. With increase in population, this number is rising every year,” he said.
“If we consider forest density of 50,000 trees per sq km, we are losing almost 90 sq km jungle every year just to cremate bodies,” Mr Limaye said. “A single tree fulfils oxygen needs of two humans. By cutting 4.5 million trees per year, we are eliminating oxygen of nine million humans. Tree is the only thing that produces oxygen from carbon dioxide without using any energy,” he said.
A single tree is also home for about 15 bird families in the form of nests, he said. “If we consider three offspring per nest, almost 45 birds get killed on a single tree. This is the reason why the bird population is fast decreasing in India and many species of birds are getting extinct,” Mr Limaye said.