MUMBAI, Oct. 10 -- A fortnight ago, the Cuffe Parade police got a call from the Cama & Albless Hospital in South Mumbai, informing them that a mentally ill 20-year-old woman in their care, who had been admitted with abdominal pain, was five months pregnant. The police went on to discover that she had been sexually assaulted by several people who took advantage of her disability. Two people, whose names the police were able to get out of the woman, have been arrested and their DNA has been sent for analysis. Fifteen others, whose first names or descriptions were given by the survivor, are also under the scanner. Given the limitations of the victim in clearly expressing herself, assistant police inspector Ashwini Patil, who is investigating the case, took the help of Vidhayak Bharti, a non-profit working for the promotion and preservation of child rights and child protection. "We made use of various therapies to speak to the girl," said Leena Patade of Vidhayak Bharti. "She was shattered and frightened and did not want to share anything about the incident. It appeared that she was warned by the accused not to speak about it to anyone." After several conversations, Patade and Patil gained the confidence of the victim. "We spoke to her, using pictures and puppet fingers," said Patade. "For five days, she repeated the same names-one of a 16-year-old boy and the other of a 32-year-old man, a driver." The police then registered an offence under Sections 64 (2) (i) (commission of rape on a woman incapable of giving consent) and 64 (2) (k) (rape on a woman suffering from mental illness or physical disability) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The accused were arrested last week. "The victim also told us that some people had taken her to isolated spots and given her carbonated drinks," said a police officer. "She was able to give the first names of some of them. We learnt that all of them were linked to the two accused we had arrested, and it is prima facie suspected that the girl has been sexually assaulted by several people. So we called the other 15 also to the police station, and their DNA samples were taken over a period of time." The police said the DNA samples had been sent to the Kalina Forensic laboratory for further examination. The woman's pregnancy was terminated and the DNA from her foetus has also been sent to the Kalina lab. The police said the accused had taken advantage of her mental instability and sexually assaulted her at isolated places and even at her home when nobody was around. "They gave her spiked drinks and threatened her," said the police officer. "We are awaiting the DNA reports and will decide on the further course of action after that."...