The two friends arrested with him have confessed they had sex with the girl but said it was her consent.

A day after their arrest by the Charkop police, the three were remanded to police custody till November 9.

The police are yet to get a full confession out of the prime accused, despite medical reports having confirmed intercourse. “During initial investigation, he vehemently denied he had raped his daughter, let alone having let others do so. However eventually, in a cold-blooded manner, he said that while drunk “he might have done it”. The other two accused, Ashok Sahu and Shabbir Sayyed, have confessed that they had sex but allege that she had voluntarily gone to them,” said police inspector S M Pendhurkar.

The girl and her grandfather, who filed the complaint, described her ordeal to the police. “She showed us all the places where her father would take her and leave her with his friends. She also led us to a ‘clinic’ where he reportedly would take her for painkillers,” said Pendhurkar, who suspects the child was taken to a quack.

The grandfather also alleged that his son would often beat his mother. “His parents had filed four non-cognisable complaints in four years.”

Neighbours at the MHADA building where the accused lived with his parents and daughter said the father appeared to have been fond of his daughter. “The grandfather and the father always fought and even though the daughter had seen her father hit her grandmother, she sided with him. The father always felt his father loves his Japan-based son more,” said a neighbour. The girl has been sent to a children’s home.

Six in a week
It is the sixth such case of a minor being raped in the city. Cases were recorded last week in Cuffe Parade, Shahunagar and Nirmal Nagar. Two more were recorded on Wednesday at the Dharavi and Vakola police stations.

The Vakola police have arrested a 17 year-old for sodomising a six-year-old girl.

The Dharavi police are on the lookout for a 40-year-old man for allegedly raping and kidnapping a 15-year old girl.