Assistant police inspector booked for blackmailing, sexually assaulting woman

An assistant police inspector in Mumbai has been booked for allegedly sexually assaulting a 32-year-old woman. The accused has been granted interim protection from arrest.

MUMBAI: An assistant police inspector (API) attached to the State Intelligence Department (SID) has been booked by the Worli police for allegedly sexually assaulting a 32-year-old woman. The police said they have registered a case against the API who has been recently granted interim protection from arrest by the sessions court.

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According to the police, the complainant is a 32-year-old housewife and a resident of Dadar. The accused is identified as Gaurav Shinde, an assistant police inspector, attached with the state SID. Shinde’s wife also works as a class one officer, while the complainant’s husband also works in the Mantralaya.

“Both of them stay in government quarters in Central Mumbai and know each other as they stay in the same society. The accused Shinde and the complainant met each other when they came to drop their kids off at the school van,” said the police officer.

The accused, as per the complainant’s statement to the police, started befriending her luring initially by getting her eight-year-old son admission in a swimming pool made for police. After he got her mobile number, he started calling the complainant, after which she realised that the accused was trying to come close to her and started avoiding him.

“Despite that, he kept on calling her and she finally blocked his mobile number. He then started following her as he had taken a long leave and kept on pleading and requesting her to unblock his mobile number,” said the police officer.

During the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020, she left along with her family to her husband’s native place in Jalgaon. “The accused kept calling her, but she blocked his number again. However, he kept on calling her and she kept on getting messages from her mobile service provider about his missed calls. Finally, afraid that her family might come to know about it, she again unblocked him. He then made a video call and requested her to show her Jalgaon house. Later, he told her he was in Satara and wanted to show her Ajinkyatara Fort. He showed her the fort on a video call and later kept asking her to strip it. Finally, she agreed and he took screenshots of the video call,” said the police officer.

Later, in December 2020, when she returned to Mumbai and there was nobody at her home and the door was open, he got into her house and kept on blackmailing her. He touched her inappropriately and even sexually assaulted her. “He blackmailed her and sexually assaulted her. Finally, tired of it, she lodged a case in September last year with us. She initially registered the case under sections 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354D (stalking), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 384 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code,” said the police officer.

Later after the woman gave another application claiming that the inspector had raped her we applied 376 (2) (n) repeated rape on the same woman under the IPC on Sunday.

“On Friday, a sessions court granted him interim relief from arrest and asked him to cooperate with the investigations till his application is decided. The court has also issued a notice to the complainant,” said the police officer.