The Mumbai Police Sunday arrested an auto-rickshaw driver for allegedly raping a 20-year-old woman passenger.
Though the alleged crime took place on May 17, the woman, a housewife, filed the police complaint only recently. The police registered an FIR against the accused, identified as Indrajeet Singh, 24, from Uttar Pradesh, on July 6.
According to the police, the complainant had hired an auto-rickshaw driven by Singh to go to her house. When the auto-rickshaw reached near the Aarey forests in Goregaon, the driver stopped it under the pretext of attending nature’s call.
“He then gagged her, and allegedly forced himself upon her. He assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it,” said a police officer.
“She had been living under mental trauma and depression since then. When her family and relatives asked her about any issues, she initially told them that an auto driver molested her. At the police station, when a woman officer counselled her, she narrated how she was raped,” another officer said.
The complainant woman’s aunt had memorised the auto-rickshaw’s number while seeing her off in Navi Mumbai. She shared this number with us. During further investigation, we arrested the accused,” said J Deshmukh from Aarey police station.
The accused has been charged under different sections of the Indian Penal Code for rape, assault and threatening.