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THANE: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly repeatedly raped by her father in Bhiwandi township in Thane district of Maharashtra , police said on Friday.

The 50-year-old accused, a resident of Padma Nagar in Bhiwandi, was arrested on Thursday following a complaint by the minor.

"The man used to sexually assault his daughter when other members of the family slept. Before the crime, he used to force her into taking some intoxicating medicine and later gag her. He had been committing the crime since October 2017," a police officer said.

The accused used to threaten the girl that he would kill her mother and siblings if she revealed it to anybody, the officer added.

The victim finally mustered courage to approach the police and lodged a complaint against her father on Thursday, following which he was arrested by Bhiwandi police.

The accused has been booked under IPC sections 376 ( rape ), 506 (criminal intimidation) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, police said.

