Two men including a taxi driver have been arrested here for allegedly raping a 14-year-old mentally unstable girl in a moving taxi, the police said on Thursday.
The accused were identified as Shriprakash Pandey (29) and Salman Shaikh (27), an official said.
Pandey is a taxi driver whereas Shaikh runs a small eatery in Dadar area, he said.
The alleged incident took place on Monday morning when the survivor, a resident of Malabar Hill area in south Mumbai, was heading for her relatives' house in suburban Malvani after having a fight with her parents at home.
As she sat in Pandey's taxi at St Stephen Church, he sensed that she was mentally unstable. He then picked up his friend Salman at Dadar, and Salman allegedly raped the girl in the backseat of the taxi between Dadar and Santacruz, the official said.
They dropped the girl at Santacruz.
Meanwhile, her parents lodged a missing person complaint at Malabar Hill police Station. Police launched a search and found the girl in Vakola area.
After the girl narrated her ordeal, police found out the taxi's registration number and both the accused were nabbed in the evening, the official said.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against them under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
A court sent the duo in police custody till September 25 and further probe is underway, the official said.
