Nagpur Police Rescue Kidnapped Teen; Accused Arrested Under POCSO Act

Police rescued a 16-year-old Class 12 student who was allegedly kidnapped, sexually assaulted and physically tortured for two days by a 20-year-old man she had befriended online. The survivor was found confined in a rented flat on Tuesday, while the accused was arrested at the scene and remains in police custody.

According to investigators, the teenager had communicated with the accused through Instagram, Snapchat and online gaming platforms. She left home on Sunday after telling her parents that she planned to visit a mall with a friend. When she failed to return and her phone was found switched off, her family contacted her friends before filing a missing-person complaint.

Police examined the teenager’s call records and social-media activity, leading them to suspect Nirbhay alias Akash Madhav Pakhre, a BBA student originally from Thane who lived in a rented Nagpur flat. Investigators obtained his phone number and contacted his family. Thane police then visited his parents and asked his mother to call him as part of the search operation.

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After learning that police were speaking to his mother, the accused allegedly forced the teenager to call her parents and claim that she was safe. Investigators used information from that call to narrow down their location. A subsequent online food order provided another crucial lead, and officers accompanied the delivery worker to verify the address before preparing a rescue operation.

Police broke open the flat and found the injured teenager restrained inside, while the accused was allegedly carrying a knife. Deputy Commissioner of Police Rashmita Rao said officers believed the survivor faced an immediate threat to her life. She was taken for medical treatment and is receiving counselling for severe physical and psychological trauma. Police seized a knife and other materials from the premises.

Investigators alleged that the accused photographed the teenager without consent and threatened to circulate the images and harm her family. A case has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and provisions covering rape, kidnapping and attempted murder. His lawyer denied kidnapping and claimed the two were in a relationship, while police are examining whether other people were involved or whether additional girls may have been targeted.

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