Victim texts police commissioner Rakesh Maria of her ordeal.
AB Wire
MUMBAI: A 29-year-old unidentified model was raped by three policemen inside a police station and forced to pay Rs. 4.5 lakh in cash apart from jewelry to the accused under threat of being labeled as a prostitute, in Mumbai.
The three policemen and a woman are among six arrested in Mumbai on Wednesday for the alleged rape of the model, reported NDTV.
The matter came to light after the victim sent a text message to Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria on Tuesday, alleging that she had been assaulted inside a police station. She told him that she had fled the city after the alleged rape, fearing harassment.
Maria called her to his office on Wednesday and after speaking to her, ordered action. Cases of rape, sexual harassment and extortion have been filed against two assistant police inspectors, a constable and three others, reported NDTV.
The woman told Maria that she had gone to a five-star hotel to audition for a film on April 3. When she came out, a police vehicle allegedly pulled up and the men inside threatened to arrest her if she didn’t get in.
The woman was allegedly taken to a police station in Sakinaka in Andheri in the western part of the city, and raped through the night. The next morning, the policemen allegedly demanded money, around Rs. 4.5 lakh, to let her go.
The woman’s friend reportedly came and paid the money. She reportedly told the police chief that her friend went to several ATMs in the middle of the night to get the cash.
The Hindustan Times reported that the accused are two assistant inspectors Sunil Khapte and Suresh Suryavanshi, and constable R Kode.
They reached the hotel in Saki Naka locality, along with three informers — Sagar, Ibrahim, alias Ibbu, and a woman (whose name has been withheld). They had been tipped off that a prostitution racked was being run, but failed to find any signs of a racket. They, however, found the complainant in a room.
The Times reported the cash and gold jewelry to be worth Rs 4.98 lakh.
A team of the Mumbai crime branch, headed by senior inspector Gopika Jhagirdar, will investigate the case.
The accused have been booked under sections 376 (rape), 354A (sexual harassment), 384 (extortion), 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (assault), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 34 (common intention) and 114 (abettor present when offence is committed) of the Indian Penal Code.