South Delhi woman harassed, threatened to take back rape case

The woman alleged that the accused obtained her private photographs and used them to blackmail her before forcing himself upon her

A 27-year-old woman has approached the police in Ambedkar Nagar, south Delhi alleging that a man who raped her in 2022 has been harassing and threatening her to withdraw the case.

According to police, the woman, a working professional, was allegedly sexually assaulted by a 36-year-old man who lived as a tenant in her residential building with his wife and children. (File Photo)

Fearing for her safety and that of her family, the woman lodged a fresh complaint on February 11, after which the police registered a case and began a probe.

Based on her complaint, an FIR was registered at Ambedkar Nagar police station under Section 78 (stalking) and Section 351 (criminal intimidation) (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), said deputy commissioner of police (south) Ankit Chauhan.

According to police, the woman, a working professional, was allegedly sexually assaulted by a 36-year-old man who lived as a tenant in her residential building with his wife and children.

In her complaint, she said that on December 24, 2022, the accused obtained her private photographs and used them to blackmail her before forcing himself upon her.

Following her complaint, the man was arrested on January 4, 2023, but was later released on bail. Since his release, the accused has allegedly continued to harass and intimidate her, police said.

In her latest complaint, filed on Tuesday, the woman recounted two specific incidents: in December 2023, he allegedly confronted her in a market and warned her to withdraw the case, threatening to make her life “difficult.”

Again, in January 2024, he reportedly followed her auto-rickshaw and stopped her in Ambedkar Nagar, issuing further threats, officers said.

Speaking to HT, the woman revealed that these were many incidents of harassment. “He has been following me and even attacked me physically. We are so scared he is going to harm me and my family because we are not taking the case back,” she claimed, adding that she only mentioned two of the incidents in the official complaint, despite being threatened by the accused multiple times.

Police said that the accused had not been arrested yet. “He will be soon summoned for interrogation,” an officer said, adding that a probe to ascertain the allegations of stalking and harassment is on.