Man, 20, held a year after he raped deaf and mute girl

A 20-year-old man was today arrested from Uttar Pradesh in connection with the rape of a 14-year-old hearing and speech impaired girl in suburban Borivali last year, the police said. Akhilesh Basfur, who used to work at a construction site near the girl’s house in the suburb before he fled to UP, was picked up from his uncle’s place in Maharajgang district.
According to a police official, the matter came to light after the girl was taken to hospital here last December on complaint of vomiting, when it was found that she was four-month pregnant. Subsequently, a case was lodged by her mother with the Borivali police station on December 16.
In a bid to crack the case, the investigators took the help of a speech therapist as the girl was hearing and speech impaired. The official said the police eventually arrived at the conclusion that the accused had been working at some construction site nearby the girl’s house and started questioning several labourers and workers at various such sites.
After getting the lead that Basfur had fled to his native place, a police team was sent there and picked him up, the official said, adding the police have secured his transit remand.