The auto driver was arrested on Thursday night (Representative Image) | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Key Highlights The child left home without telling anyone and wanted to move to Mumbai to become a model She was approached by two minor boys on a motorcycle who offered her a ride to the railway station, said police The girl is currently with her parents at home and recovering from the trauma

Ahmedabad: Police in Gujarat's Surat city are in the process of nabbing two minor boys accused of gang-raping a 13-year-old girl. The matter came to light when the child's parents approached the police earlier this week with a plea to change their complaint of a missing person to that of gang-rape with a minor.

Without informing her parents or anyone else, the girl left home on Wednesday to become a model in Mumbai. She was walking towards the railway station when two minor boys, aged 15 and 17, intercepted her and offered to help her reach her destination. When she agreed to go with them, the boys took her to an isolated forest area where they took turns raping her. The child also told investigators that the boys threatened her into not making any sounds.

In the minutes following the heinous crime, the boys dropped her off at a spot about five kilometres from the railway station and in the care of an autorickshaw driver. According to a report, the driver asked her where she was going and the minor told him that she wanted to move to Mumbai and become a model. The former then took her to his rented accommodation in Surat and told her that there were no trains for Mumbai that night.

Later that night, the autorickshaw driver raped the 13-year-old. On Thursday, he dropped her off on the side of the road in another part of the city. The child managed to find her way home and narrated her ordeal before her parents who approached the local police with an official complaint in this regard. When she did not return a day earlier, the parents had lodged a missing person complaint which was later converted to a case of gang-rape.

Based on the girl's statements and CCTV footage from various parts of the city, police identified and traced the autorickshaw driver. He was arrested from his rented accommodation on Thursday night. Pictures of him taken by investigating officials were shared with the minor who confirmed his identity. A search operation is underway for the two minor boys who picked up the child on a motorcycle. A case has been registered against the three accused under Sections 363, 376 (2) (N), 376 (D), 377, 342, 506 (2), 114 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 3 (A), 4, 5 (L), 6 and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.