Man held for rape of Pune techie freed after new twist in probe
The woman had alleged that the suspect took a selfie with her and left a message saying “I will be back” to warn her against approaching the police.
The 25-year-old man detained in connection with the alleged rape of a 22-year-old woman in Kondhwa area in Maharashtra's Pune was released from police custody on Friday, after it emerged that he was a friend of the woman and did not gain entry by posing as a courier delivery executive after spraying a chemical on her as previously suspected, officials said.
During interrogation, the suspect revealed that he had known the woman for a year and a selfie — which was being treated as a key piece of evidence in the rape investigation — was taken with the consent of the woman, an IT professional, and was allegedly edited by the woman herself who left a threatening message on it, the police said.
“The suspect is not a delivery boy. But both of them have known each other since the last one year. Also, there is no forced entry, and no spray was used in this case,” said Amitesh Kumar, Pune Police Commissioner.
On Thursday, the city police formed 10 teams, including five from the crime branch, to search for the suspect after the woman filed a complaint alleging that the man, claiming to be a delivery executive, reached her rented house in Kondhwa area at around 7.30 PM and when she went inside to get a PIN for the package, forced entry into her house, sprayed a chemical on her face to cause disorientation and raped her.
She alleged that the suspect took a selfie with her and left a message saying “I will be back” to warn her against approaching the police about the incident.
“The selfie was taken with the consent of the victim, and the message was edited and posted by the victim,” Kumar said.
The motive behind the rape allegation “is still unclear and investigation is going on”, he said.
“The girl’s mental state is not good at present… The rape part is still under investigation,” news agency PTI quoted the commissioner as saying.
Meanwhile, the police deployed 500 cops, including officers, and analysed over 500 CCTV cameras before they detained the suspect, who is also an IT professional, from Baner for questioning.
As part of the investigation, the police showed a photograph of the suspect to other residents of the housing society, but no one identified him. However, police officials said photographs matching the suspect were found on the victim’s mobile.
