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Passenger arrested for attempting to rape woman auto driver in Pune’s Katraj ghat area
The Bharati Vidyapeeth Police have arrested a 30-year-old man for running nude behind a woman auto driver in the Katraj ghat area and attempting to sexually assault her, officials said
The Bharati Vidyapeeth Police have arrested a 30-year-old man for running nude behind a woman auto driver in the Katraj ghat area and attempting to sexually assault her, officials said. The incident took place at around 10 pm on December 26.
The accused identified as Nikhil Ashok Memjade was arrested on December 29.
The First Information Report (FIR) states that the accused boarded the auto telling her that he wanted to go to Katraj ghat. “He stopped the vehicle at a lodge on Pune-Satara road and forced her to have dinner with him which she refused. Enraged over her behaviour, the passenger assaulted her and demanded physical relations. He then removed his clothes and sat naked in the vehicle. The woman fled from the spot. The accused then tailed her naked,” the FIR stated.
However, the woman driver managed to reach a nearby police station and narrated her ordeal. Based on her complaint, the accused was arrested by a team of police officials, especially deployed to nab him in the ghat area.
Police sub-inspector VG Ghogare said, “The accused during interrogation said that he was under mental depression due to an acute financial crisis. He has been remanded in judicial custody and sent to Yerawada jail.”
A case has been registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 354 and 354 A at Bharati Vidyapeeth police station.
The incident has put a serious question mark on the security of woman auto drivers ferrying male passengers in secluded areas during night time. In the past few years, Pune has seen a large number of women taking up auto rickshaw driving which is quite popular during the evening, especially among working women.
