Virar woman gang-raped after seeking help; three held

The accused, all residents of Virar, were arrested on Saturday evening. The survivor, who lives in Andheri with her husband, had travelled to Virar after leaving home following an argument with her husband.

MUMBAI: Three men have been arrested for allegedly gang-raping a 40-year-old woman in Virar after luring her on the pretext of helping her locate her relative’s residence.

Virar woman gang-raped after seeking help; three held

The accused, all residents of Virar, were arrested on Saturday evening. The survivor, who lives in Andheri with her husband, had travelled to Virar after leaving home following an argument with her husband.

According to the police, the woman left her residence on Thursday night and booked an app-based cab to Virar, where she was planning to stay with relatives. She reached Virar East at around 2.45 am on Friday and got off near a residential building.

In her complaint, the woman alleged that around 2.50 am, three men approached her and offered to help her find her relative’s address. Instead, they allegedly took her to a nearby location and gang-raped her before fleeing the spot.

The survivor approached the police later on Friday and lodged a complaint. She also provided the police with the names of two of the accused — Tejas and Deepak — along with the mobile phone numbers of two of the suspects.

“The woman has a somewhat eccentric nature, and there are inconsistencies in the information she is providing. However, we are investigating every aspect of the case based on her complaint,” an officer from the Bolinj police station said.

Using the description provided by the survivor and footage from CCTV cameras in the area, the police identified and arrested the accused as Tejas Ramesh Patil, 22, Shivnath Omprakash Dubey, 35, and Vipin Indrabahadur Pathak, 30, all residents of Virar.

The accused will be produced before a magistrate’s court in Vasai.