A minor girl was allegedly gang-raped by at least six youths after she was lured for Diwali celebrations and offered a soft drink laced with sedatives, police said here Monday.

 

 Police have launched a hunt to nab the culprits who are absconding after committing the crime on the 16-year-old girl in a residential locality of Goregaon, a Mumbai suburb late Friday.

 

 Pictures of the six youth have been flashed to all police stations in the city and the state in an effort to trace them. Two of the youth are said to be minors.

 

 The victim Monday complained to her grandmother how the youth who were known to her, invited her for Diwali celebrations, took her on a drive and offered her a sedated drink en-route.

 

 Later, they parked the car in a bylane in the Goregaon locality where they took turns to rape her between 9 and 11 p.m. last Friday.

 

 The police initially lodged a non-cognisable offence in the matter and only when public pressure built up, a formal complaint was registered and investigations were launched Monday.

 

 Dindoshi Police station head J. Mane told mediapersons Monday that four special teams have been formed to trace the accused.

 

 On the issue of why a proper FIR was not lodged, Mane said the matter is being looked into by a senior officer.

 

 –Indo-Asian News Service