Maharashtra: Man held for repeatedly raping Thane woman

Representational Image

A Thane police official on Sunday said that a 28-year-old man was arrested from Jogeshwari in Mumbai for allegedly raping a Thane woman repeatedly and also forcing her to abort a pregnancy, reported news agency PTI.

Riyasat Illias Qureshi befriended the 24-year-old Thane woman and raped her several times between February 2022 and January this year on the promise of marriage, the Rabodi police station official said, reported PTI.

"She filed a complaint after the accused, who is a tailor, refused to marry her," he said.

In another case, the body of a 20-year-old woman was found in the thicket near Uran railway station in Navi Mumbai, after which a murder case was registered, a police official said on Sunday, reported PTI.

The body was found at 2:15 am on Saturday, Deputy Commissioner of Police Vivek Pansare said.

The victim, who worked in Belapur, had taken half-day leave on Friday and the murder may have taken place between 3:30 pm and 4 pm that day, the DCP said.

"A case under section 103 of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita has been registered against unidentified person/s. Three teams have been formed to trace the accused. The Crime Branch is also probing the case independently," he informed, reported PTI.

Meanwhile, the trial of the gangrape and murder of a woman in Shilphata area would be expedited through a fast-track court and renowned lawyer Ujjwal Nikam would be appointed as a special prosecutor in the case, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed on Saturday, reported PTI.

The chief minister also asked police to file a charge sheet in the court at the earliest, a statement from his office said.

Shinde instructed the Thane police commissioner and principal secretary of the home department to ensure that the case was handled with utmost seriousness and urgency, it said, reported PTI.

Three men, attendants at a temple in Shilphata area, have been arrested in the case.

The victim left her house after a dispute with her in-laws on July 6 and took shelter in the temple on a hilltop where she was allegedly raped and killed by the trio. Her body was dumped in a valley and recovered on July 9, according to police.

(With inputs from PTI)