An autorickshaw driver in Mumbai was arrested on Friday for the rape and assault of a passenger. The incident took place at Arnala Beach in neighbouring Palghar district and the 20-year-old was found with stones and a plastic-wrapped surgical blade in her vagina. Preliminary investigation, however, indicates that the woman had inserted the objects after the attack as she feared reprisal from her family for being raped.
According to a PTI report quoting the police, the Mumbai woman was spotted near the Goregaon railway station on Wednesday morning and questioned. The woman alleged that she had met the accused driver at the Vasai railway station premises (some 30 km north along the same train route) the previous day. He had reportedly taken her to the beach and raped her. The victim was taken to a government-run hospital in the city after informing the police.
Meanwhile, an NDTV report suggests that the Nalasopara resident and her attacker had gone to Arnala Beach together and planned to spend the night there. They had reportedly failed to secure a hotel room as she did not have a valid identity card. Police believe that she was raped on the beach and later inserted the stone and blade into her body to avoid being scolded and beaten by her parents.
Sources told the publication that the woman had been panic-stricken at the thought of returning home and acknowledging the rape — after spending the night outside. She had managed to make her way to the railway station in Nalasopara after the attack and eventually bought a surgical knife. She had inserted it alongside some stones into her body. However, she soon felt pain and experienced bleeding and eventually contacted the local police.
A case was subsequently registered at the Vanarai police station and multiple police teams were formed to apprehend the accused. Officials said that the teams had launched a search between Churchgate and Virar railway stations and eventually nabbed the 32-year-old accused from a slum in the Khairpada Valiv area.
(With inputs from agencies)
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