Representative image.

MUMBAI: A two-year-old girl was allegedly raped by two minor brothers from her neighbourhood in Palghar on Saturday. The accused teenagers have been arrested.

The girl was playing outside her house, when her father, a casual labourer, was at work and mother was in the kitchen. The brothers, aged 14 and 15, who stay a few rooms away, called out to the girl. When she walked in their direction, they lifted her and took her to their home. Their parents, also daily wagers, were at work. The boys closed the door of their room and sexually abused her.

The girl's cries alerted other neighbours who informed her mother. They knocked at the door of the teens and found the girl crying. The school boys were thrashed by residents before handing them over to Tarapur police. The girl is under medical observation and her condition is stable. News of the sexual abuse led to unrest in the locality and residents said the boys misbehave with girls and often indulged in eve-teasing.

The boys were booked under Indian Penal Code section 376 (2) for gangrape and under sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences ( POCSO ) Act. They were sent to the children's remand home in Bhiwandi on Monday.

