Kin allege rape, blackmail after teen girl found hanging at home in Maharashtra; 4 held

Sangli | A 16-year-old girl was found hanging at her home in Maharashtra Sangli district, with her father alleging she committed suicide after being raped by four men who were also blackmailing her, police said on Thursday.

The four suspects have been arrested, they said.

The girl was found hanging at her home in Atpadi tehsil of western Maharashtra's Sangli district in the early hours of Monday, the police said.

"As per the complaint lodged by the deceased father, the girl confided in him during dinner the previous evening that four men, who were teasing and harassing her, took her to a room atop a private bank in Atpadi one day where they allegedly sexually assaulted her," a Sangli police official said.

"In his complaint, the man also alleged that the accused had filmed his daughter and were seeking sexual favours by threatening her that they would make the video viral," she said.

According to the complaint, the girl told her father about the incident on Sunday evening, the official said.

"Her father assured her that they would approach the police next morning, but on Monday morning, the girl was found hanging in her room," she said.

"A case has been lodged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and all the four suspects have been arrested. Further probe is on," she said.