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Pune woman booked for filing false rape complaint
The Pune Police launched a citywide probe in response to the complaint involving over 500 personnel and analysis of CCTV footage from more than 500 cameras
A 22-year-old Pune woman has been booked for allegedly lodging a false complaint accusing a man of posing as a delivery agent and sexually assaulting her. The action came a fortnight after police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said the woman filed the complaint to mislead police.
Additional police commissioner Manoj Patil said the woman has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s sections 212 (providing false information), 217 (false information to public servant regarding an offence), 228 (fabricating evidence ), and 229 (false evidence).
Police said the woman was booked under non-cognizable offences after the probe showed the incident she reported on July 2 was fabricated. She may face more serious charges pending legal opinion after the motive behind the false claim is ascertained.
Police said the case underscores the importance of verifying facts before registering serious cases, as false complaints harm the accused and undermine genuine survivors’ access to justice.
The woman claimed that the man entered her flat pretending to deliver bank documents, sprayed an unknown substance to make her unconscious, raped her, used her phone to take a selfie and post a threatening message.
Police launched a citywide probe in response to the complaint involving over 500 personnel and analysis of CCTV footage from more than 500 cameras. The man was also detained for questioning but later released.
Police said the two were at the woman’s flat from 7:30pm to 8:45pm on the day of the supposed incident. The probe established that there was no forced entry into the woman’s apartment, no trace of any sedative spray, and no signs of physical assault.
Police said that the man was known to the woman for over a year, having met at a community event, and they were regularly in touch. “The selfie was taken with mutual consent, and the message was edited and posted after the man left the flat,” a police officer said.
