The Shahunagar police on Tuesday arrested a 21-year-old labourer for allegedly raping his neighbour’s six-year-old son. According to police, Nikesh Balit and the victim have been staying at Siddhartha Nagar slum in Dharavi for years.

“The victim would often go to Balit’s house to watch television. On October 21, Balit saw him playing outside and called him to his house. The child had gone to his house and Balit allegedly raped him. The father of the accused had gone to work and his mother was in her village. After forcing himself on the victim, Balit had told him to go home. However, the victim didn’t tell about the incident to his mother after going home,” said police sub-inspector Deepak Shinde of Shahunagar police station.

It was only on Monday the victim’s mother noticed him vomiting and complaining of pain. When she questioned him, the child told her about Balit’s act.

“On Tuesday, the victim’s mother registered a complaint with us. We arrested him the same night from his house. While the accused initially denied the allegations, he broke down and confessed after we brough the victim to the station. We have recorded the victim’s statement. We will be sending teh victim and Balit for a medical examination. We have, however, registered a case of unnatural offences under section 377 against Balit,” said Shinde.

In another incident in South Mumbai, the Cuffe Parade police arrested a 17-year-old horse cart driver for allegedly raping a seven-year-old boy.

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