11 July,2023 07:49 AM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah Khan
Image used for representation purpose. Pic/Istock
Police on Sunday arrested a 25-year-old auto driver, who hails from Agra in Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly raping a 20-year-old passenger inside his vehicle in Aarey Colony. According to Aarey police sources, the survivor, a resident of a suburb in north Mumbai, received a call from her maternal aunt on June 17 to bring her phone and documents from her home in Belapur to the court she was at.
Leaving her three-month-old son with her husband, the victim retrieved the documents and phone and travelled to Belapur by train and then took an auto to Belapur court. Subsequently, the same auto driver who had dropped her off at Belapur court was instructed by her aunt to take her home in north Mumbai. The aunt took down the auto-rickshaw's number and captured a photo on her mobile phone.
The auto driver suggested taking a route through Aarey Colony, claiming it to be a shortcut. However, when they reached an isolated location, he halted the auto, pretending to relieve himself. Upon his return, he pretended retrieve a water bottle, and forcefully covered the woman's mouth, touched her private parts and assaulted her.
In the woman's statement provided to the police, she said he not only tore her clothes and assaulted her when she resisted, but also kicked her in the stomach, threw her out of the rickshaw, and fled. Due to the severity of the assault, two stitches from her recent Caesarean operation opened, causing her intense pain.
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Despite the agony, she managed to find another auto to reach home. Initially scared and traumatised, she chose not to disclose the incident to anyone, even receiving treatment at a trauma hospital for a couple of days. Only after stabilising did she reveal the horrifying incident to her aunt.
The survivor then approached the Aarey police to report the crime. The police traced the auto's owner, leading them to the accused. Eventually, they apprehended Indrajit Deven Singh, who stays at Sector 9 in Kopar Khairane area of Navi Mumbai. Police arrested Singh and booked him under Sections 376, 354B, 509, 323, 506, and 504 of the Indian Penal Code. He was produced before the court and remanded in police custody.