One held for abduction, rape of 17-year-old girl: Police

A 21-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly abducting a teenage girl and repeatedly raping her over a period of nine months, police said on Friday.

The 17-year-old girl, hailing from a village in the Gadwar area in Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh, was allegedly abducted on November 28 last year by accused Ajay Verma (21), who took her to Delhi.

An FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint from the family members of the girl and she was rescued from Delhi on August 31, Station House Officer (SHO), Gadwar, Shailendra Singh said.

In her statement to the police recorded on September 1, the girl alleged that she was repeatedly raped by the accused of the last nine months.

Charges of rape (section 376 of the IPC) as also under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were added to the FIR on the basis of the girl's statement, the SHO said.

The accused was arrested on Wednesday and sent to jail, he added.