BJP leader arrested for ‘raping teenage girl over four years’ in Mumbai

A BJP leader has been arrested over raping a teen-age girl at gun-point in Mumbai over past four years.

According to reports of Baaghitv, a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Sandeep Gopinath Mali, 41, who currently holds the position of unit vice-president had been approaching a teenage girl for sex. The girl’s rejection to this abuse infuriated him, after-which the accused rape the victim at gun-point in 2015 in Mumbai. He allegedly continued to sexually assault the girl ever since, police reported.

The victim, now 17, lodged an first information report (FIR) on Saturday. The police booked the accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and arrested the BJP leader.

The accused, who is married and have children, was produced in court on Sunday and remanded to police custody till August 21, police officials said.