Shocking twist in Pune rape case: Top cop says woman filed false complaint, misled police — ‘no one should defame…’

Referring to the Pune rape case, where a 22-year-old techie had accused an unidentified ‘delivery agent’ of raping her in her apartment, Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar on Sunday said that the woman had filed a false complaint. Her complaint had misled the Pune Police, the CP said.

“Just two days ago, an incident came before Pune City Police, which was used to create a narrative that law and order concerning women in Pune has completely collapsed, and efforts were made to portray Pune as unsafe for women,” Amitesh Kumar said, according to ANI.

“By deploying the full resources of the police administration, we solved the case within 24 hours... No one should try to defame Pune, a city known to be one of the safest, through fake narratives,” he added.

Accused known to victim, not a delivery agent

Initial probe in the case had suggested that the accused was known to the woman, and was not a courier delivery agent as claimed by the woman earlier, the CP said on Friday.

The man, who is employed with a reputed IT multinational company in Pune, was picked up from the Baner locality earlier in the day. However, Commissioner Kumar said that no formal arrest has been made yet, as reported by ANI.

Doubts over woman's version of events

Contrary to the victim's earlier claims, the police said they have found no evidence of any spray being used during the alleged assault. Another allegation – that the accused took a selfie with the victim after the incident – has also been disputed.

The woman had claimed that she had passed out after the man had entered her home, and when she regained consciousness, he was gone. Before leaving, the accused clicked a selfie using her phone in which her back and a part of his face are seen, and left a message warning that he had taken her pictures and would release them on social media if she reported the incident, she told police.

The Police Commissioner further said that while a selfie was indeed taken, it was done with mutual consent, and the controversial text over the image – which went viral on social media – was allegedly added later by the woman after the accused had left.

The complainant, according to police, has told investigators that she is currently not in a stable frame of mind.

Following the woman's complaint on June 2, a case was registered at Kondhwa Police Station against an unidentified person. She had alleged that a man posing as a bank courier gained entry to her residence and raped her.

The FIR was registered under Sections 64, 77, and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The police chief added that over 500 police personnel were deployed and extensive CCTV footage was scrutinised to identify and locate the accused following the complaint.

(With inputs from agencies)