Nagpur: Watchman arrested for raping 9-year-old girl

A watchman of a building in Lakadganj area allegedly raped a nine-year-old girl, adding to the numerous rape cases of minors in Nagpur. Despite the police's assurance of women's safety, there have been several incidents such as a school teacher being arrested for raping a student and three minor girls being raped in the Pachpaoli area.

The continuous rape cases of minor girls in the city have raised questions about the effectiveness of the police in dealing with criminals. In one of the recent cases, a 57-year-old watchman named Mahesh Rahangdale, who lives with his wife on the ground floor of the building in Lakadganj area, allegedly raped a nine-year-old girl from the same building. The incident occurred on April 11, around 4 pm, when the girl went down to ride her bicycle. Mahesh approached her, took her to his room on the pretext of giving her water, and reportedly sexually abused her.

After the survivor started crying, Mahesh threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the incident. However, she went home and told her mother what had happened. The parents then went to the Lakadganj police station to report the incident, and Mahesh was subsequently arrested on charges of rape. Sources say that Mahesh's wife was present outside the room when the incident occurred, and the girl informed her about what happened after coming out crying. Instead of being angry with her husband, Mahesh's wife told the girl to keep quiet.