A 20-year-old lady was raped by an autorickshaw driver in Mumbai earlier this week, and she put a surgical blade and stones into her intimate areas out of fear of her parents accusing her. Police said the inquiry uncovered a more nuanced story, despite the car driver being jailed on rape allegations.
When the woman, who lived in Nalasopara in the Palghar district of Maharashtra, contacted officials at the Ram Mandir railway station in Goregaon, the issue gained attention. After originally telling authorities that she had taken the train to Mumbai earlier that day, she claimed that an auto driver had attacked her. Nevertheless, the woman admitted to the investigators that she and the driver had visited Arnala beach in Virar. Unable to secure a room in a guest house due to lack of identification, they decided to spend the night on the beach.
The driver allegedly raped the victim there before running away. The woman informed police that she bought a surgical blade and put it, along with stones, into her privates because she was afraid of being punished by her parents when she got home. After enduring excruciating discomfort, she proceeded to the train station but sought medical assistance.
During an emergency surgery at the hospital, the foreign objects were removed by the doctors. Her report resulted to the autorickshaw driver being charged with rape. Police took the woman’s statement after she regained consciousness, but they found inconsistencies in her story. When questioned, everything fell apart.
When her father stepped forward, her first claim that she was orphaned was refuted. He told the authorities that she had previously reported two people for rape in 2023. The auto driver, Raj Ratan, was taken into custody by police on Thursday night following a thorough search. They are still looking into the incident and the woman’s contradictory comments in the interim.
