Thane Police on Thursday registered a case against 33 people for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl, several times over a period of 9-months, in the Dombivli area of Maharashtra's Thane district.
In a statement, police said 28 of the 33 accused have been arrested.
Police informed that of the 28 arrested accused, two were minors and have been sent to a juvenile correctional facility in Bhiwandi.
"Meanwhile, 24 accused have been sent to police custoy till September 29, and two will be presented before court today, the police said.
On the basis of the minor's complaint, police said a case under "sections 376 (Rape), 376 (N), 376 (3), 376 (D) (A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act" has been registered.
Thane Police has constitutes a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter.
In January this year, the victim was allegedly gang-raped by her 'friends' who then filmed the crime which was used to blackmail her and to rape her again.
"The video was then circulated among other friends and acquaintances of the accused, who too used it to blackmail the teen and rape her on multiple occasions," police said.
The case came to light after the victim shared it with her aunt, after which a complaint was filed against the accused.
"The victim knew almost all the attackers," the police said.
The case also caught political attention in the state. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari wrote to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday and asked for a special session on the matter. The Shiv Sena, however, called it a political stunt and accused the Governor of being a proxy for the BJP at the Centre.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis also took to Twitter and said culprits must be severely punished, and the state government must take such incidents seriously and act expeditiously.
The Maharashtra BJP vice president Chitra Wagh, who reached Dombivli, lashed out at the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and alleged that they were not serious about the safety of women.
"The government is neither implementing the Shakti law in the state nor filling up the post of the chairperson of the women's commission," Wagh said while adding that in light of recent cases of violence against women, the demand for a special session called by the Governor for the safety of women is justified.
( With inputs from ANI )
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