Mumbai: Rape survivor attacked with acid to force her to withdraw plaint

A 38-year-old rape survivor was attacked with acid by an unidentified man at Andheri, allegedly to force the woman into withdrawing the rape case, registered on the basis of her complaint two months ago

A 38-year-old rape survivor was attacked with acid by an unidentified man at Andheri, allegedly to force the woman into withdrawing the rape case, registered on the basis of her complaint two months ago. According to the Andheri police, the woman sustained burns to her legs as the accused threw a plastic balloon, filled with acid, on her late on Saturday. The police are now scanning CCTV footage of the area to identify and nab the accused.

Mumbai: Rape survivor attacked with acid to force her to withdraw plaint

The woman, a property consultant, had separated from her husband since 2010 and lives with her only daughter. In her statement to the police, she said on Saturday after closing her office, she was waiting for an autorickshaw at Bisleri junction on the western express highway in Andheri (East) around 10.50pm when an unidentified person threw the balloon with a note, ordering her to take back her rape complaint.

She added that after the attack, her business partner and a few other people, who were nearby, heard her screams and rushed her to a hospital. Police officers said that the partner had got into a relationship with one Bobby Tukaram Bhole a few months ago.

On June 3, 2021, the survivor filed a case of rape, extortion and threat against Bhole and her friends, Zakir Shaikh, Mahesh Bhole, Kapil Bhole, Akash Malhotra and Mayank at Malwani police station under sections 376, 384, 385, 506, 326 and 34 IPC. Since the past two months, the victim had allegedly been getting threats from Bhole to take back her case. She has filed a written application regarding these threats at Sahar police station,

“We have registered a case under section 326 (A) of the IPC and are tracing the man who threw the acid to ascertain whether he was hired by Bhole to commit the crime. We are at present scanning the CCTVs of the WEH to identify the accused,” said Indrajit Mohite, inspector, Andheri police station.