IT professional held for raping, harassing woman in Thane district

The police on Saturday said that a 24-year-old man has been arrested for the repeated rape and harassment of a woman in Maharashtra`s Thane district, reported news agency PTI.

Based on a complaint, the police on Thursday arrested the accused, who is an IT professional and resident of Bhiwandi, on the charges of repeated rape, cheating, criminal intimidation, intentional insult, and provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act, an official said, reported PTI.

He said the complainant has alleged that the accused repeatedly raped her with the promise of marriage and harassed her between August 10, 2024, and April 23, this year.

The official said the man also allegedly threatened to make objectionable pictures of the complainant viral on social media.

The woman subsequently broke off ties with the accused and requested him to delete all photographs and videos of her. He, however, allegedly visited the victim`s house and demanded Rs 2 lakh to end their relationship permanently, reported PTI.

The official said when the woman refused to pay him, the accused allegedly created a fake Instagram account and posted their photos.

He said the police are probing into the allegations.

32-year-old man held for kidnapping and raping minor girl in Thane district

In another case, the police have arrested a 32-year-old man for allegedly kidnapping and raping a 13-year-old girl from a village in Shahapur taluka of Thane district, an official said on Wednesday, reported PTI.

District Superintendent of Police (SP) DS Swami told reporters that the incident took place on the morning of April 17 when the minor girl was on her way to her school.

A man, later identified as Sachin Suresh Jadhav, a resident of Padgha under Bhiwandi taluka, lured the victim under the pretext of getting clothes and kidnapped her. He took the teenager on his scooter to an isolated location in a jungle where he raped her, said the police officer, reported PTI.

The girl somehow freed herself from the clutches of the accused and reached home where she informed her parents about the ordeal. Based on a complaint by the family, police registered an FIR against the man under BNS provisions related to rape, kidnap, and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said, reported PTI.

Police formed a couple of teams and the Local Crime Branch and the Shahapur police relied on several leads, including CCTV footage, technical and intelligence inputs, and finally zeroed on the accused, said the SP.

Police nabbed Jadhav on Monday from his village and seized the scooter used in the crime which was stolen by him from Mulund in adjoining Mumbai, he added.

(With inputs from PTI)