Thane, April 7 A construction worker has been arrested for allegedly raping a seven-year-old girl at a construction site in Thane city, Maharashtra, police said on Tuesday, adding that the victim is receiving treatment at the civil hospital.
The incident has sparked outrage, with political parties demanding verification of migrant workers employed at the construction sites.
The 45-year-old accused was apprehended within hours of the crime, which occurred in the Naupada area on Monday evening, an official said.
He said that the child's parents and the accused were both labourers at the construction site.
According to the police, the accused took the girl aside and allegedly sexually assaulted her. The distressed child informed her parents about the assault.
Her parents rushed to the police and filed a complaint, following which a case was registered under sections 64(1)(rape), 65(2)(raping a girl under 12 years of age) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the official said.
Amid the outrage, leaders from various political parties demanded the immediate and mandatory verification of all migrant construction workers in Thane.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's Thane-Palghar district president Avinash Jadhav urged the police commissioner to ensure compulsory registration and ID verification of every worker at construction sites, citing a "sense of fear and insecurity" among residents.
"Many workers on these sites come from outside states without official registration or police record checks. All developers should be directed to register their workers and issue ID cards. Strict action should be taken against those violating these rules," Jadhav said in his letter to the police commissioner.
BJP corporator Mrunal Pendse, who rushed to the Naupada police station at midnight along with corporator Sunesh Joshi, described the act as a "shame for the city."
"This is most unfortunate. These construction sites employ cheap labour while flouting all regulations and due diligence. The accused should be awarded nothing less than the death sentence to serve as a deterrent," Pendse told reporters.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Mahesh Kadam accused developers of employing labourers "according to their whims and fancies."
He announced that the Shiv Sena (UBT) would conduct its own checks at construction sites to identify unverified workers.