A 22-year-old woman was allegedly raped by an unidentified man who gained entry into her apartment in Pune by pretending to be a courier delivery executive, police said on Thursday.
The incident occurred around 7:30 pm on Wednesday at a housing society in the Kondhwa area of Pune. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 5) Rajkumar Shinde, the accused also took a selfie using the victim’s phone and left a threatening message, warning her not to report the crime, as per the news agency PTI.
He allegedly told her he had taken her photos and would post them on social media if she spoke to anyone, reported news agency PTI.
The victim, who works at a private company, was alone at home at the time, as her brother was out of town. A search is currently underway to locate and arrest the suspect, police added.
The man came to her house posing as a courier delivery agent and gained entry. He asked for a pen to sign a document and as she turned her back to him, he came inside the house and latched the door, the official said, reported news agency PTI.
“The woman does not remember anything further, as she gained consciousness around 8.30 pm. The woman then informed her relatives and subsequently police were alerted,” Shinde said.
The man left a message on her phone that he had taken photos of her, and if she revealed the incident to anyone, he would make the pictures viral, the official stated.
There is a possibility that the accused used some substance to make her unconscious. The police were verifying if any spray was used, he said, reported PTI.
The face of the accused has been captured in one of the CCTV cameras in the area and efforts were on to trace him, the official said.
A case has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 64 (punishment for rape), 77 (voyeurism) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation), the police added.
Sexual assault-robbery on highway in Pune: Cops release sketch of accused
In a similar case in Pune, two men allegedly sexually assaulted a minor and robbed a group of women on Wednesday.
Police have released a sketch of one of the two men accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl and robbing a group of women after their car had stopped on a roadside in Pune district, Maharashtra.
The incident occurred around 4:15 am on Monday near Bhigwan in Daund town, as the victims were travelling by car to the temple town of Pandharpur in Solapur district, officials said, reported news agency PTI.
“Based on the victims’ descriptions, we have prepared a sketch of one of the accused. We urge citizens to come forward with any information that could help identify him,” said Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Sandip Singh Gill on Wednesday.
(With PTI inputs)