Mumbai: Mumbai Police have booked a mother and her male neighbour in Ghatkopar after a minor girl accused them of forcing her into prostitution. The tenth-grade student lodged a complaint stating she had been coerced into sexual exploitation since April.

After facing the abuse multiple times, she confided in a friend who encouraged her to approach her teacher. The girl told her schoolteacher, "Mom and uncle force me to do prostitution."

She had also tried to escape by staying at a friend’s house for three days, but was beaten upon returning home and forced back into the act.

The authorities registered the case under relevant sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 64 (rape), Section 98 (selling a child for prostitution), and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

In her complaint to the police, the girl alleged that from April until the day she reported the incident, her mother and the neighbour had compelled her to engage in prostitution as a means of earning money.

A police officer involved in the case stated that the young girl decided to put an end to her exploitation after the abuse became unbearable for her.

The teacher, shocked by the girl's account, alerted the school authorities. The school administration then contacted the local police, who registered a case and initiated an investigation. IANS