A 16-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped by 10 persons for over six months in Maharashtra's Solapur district, police said on Wednesday, 12 February.
Five of the accused have been arrested under Indian Penal Code Section 376-D (gangrape) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual offences Act (POCSO) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, they said.
The incident came to light after some locals saw the girl crying outside a temple in the city on 11 February and alerted the police.
The girl and some of the accused were friends. They were later joined by other accomplices in the crime, she said.
The accused, among whom some are auto-rickshaw drivers, forcefully took her to various places over six months and allegedly raped her, the official said.
The girl's father died sometime back and she was staying in Solapur with her mother, who did odd jobs to earn livelihood, the police added.
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