PUNE: The arrested youth (22) and his minor accomplice (16) raped the 12-year-old girl on a hillock near Hinjewadi on Sunday, three days before she passed away in a government hospital on Wednesday.Police investigation revealed that the girl, who had slipped into coma, was gang-raped by both. A medical opinion is awaited on whether the 12-year-old rape survivor, whose statement helped the police identify the suspects, was also gang-raped or was sexually assaulted only by the arrested youth.“We have arrested the senior of the two suspects and invoked a charge under Section 376D ( gang rape ) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in relation to the deceased victim. For now, the minor suspect is being sent to the Juvenile Justice Board. We have sought a legal opinion on if an offence under Section 376A, which provides for a punishment up to 20 years for an act causing death, could be invoked against the duo,” a senior officer said.The amended Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, enables the police to try a juvenile, aged between 16 and 18 years, in conflict with law as an adult in heinous crimes. Senior inspector Shivaji Gaware of the Hinjewadi police said, “We will send a letter to the Juvenile Justice Board, requesting to treat the 16-year-old suspect as a major for trial in the case.”The police have also invoked Section 366A (procuration of minor girl) of the IPC and sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in the case. On Thursday, a holiday court sent the arrested youth in police custody remand till September 25.After post-mortem, the deceased rape victim’s body was handed over to her parents on Thursday. “Her family has decided to perform her last rites at their native place in Pune district ,” said the officer. “The hospital authorities have preserved her viscera and the cause of her death will be ascertained after the chemical analysis,” he said.“The other 12-year-old rape survivor is now with her parents. We had sent her to hospital for a medical examination. Her condition is stable,” he said.The officer said the rape victim and the survivor were from poor family background. Their parents work as labourers in the area.“The deceased girl is survived by her parents and a brother. She was good in studies,” said a neighbour of the victim.The rape victim and the survivor were classmates. On Sunday afternoon, they had gone to play on the hillock near their house in Hinjewadi. The two suspects were also there.On noticing the girls, the arrested youth offered them chocolate and asked them to come with him. The girls accompanied him as they knew him and the other suspect.After walking some distance into the bushes, the duo sexually assaulted the girls, said a source in the police. One of the girls was gang-raped. The duo then threatened the girls against disclosing anything to their parents and left the spot.The terrified girls went to their respective homes and kept quiet. On Monday, the rape victim complained of stomach pain. Her parents took her to a local clinic. She was taken to a hospital in Aundh after primary treatment, where it was revealed that she was raped. After she slipped into coma, she was shifted to another hospital in Pune on Wednesday, where she died.In courtSeeking 10-day custodial remand of the arrested suspect, the police told a city court that his offence was of serious nature and they needed to thoroughly interrogate him besides getting him medically examined in a government hospital.The police also wanted to investigate if the arrested suspect and his minor accomplice had sexually assaulted the two girls previously and if they had committed similar offence on other girls. The probe is also focused on finding out any other accomplice, the police said.After a brief hearing, the court remanded the suspect in police custody till September 25.

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