22-year-old rapes colleague inside shop, arrested

Santacruz police arrested a 22-year-old salesman on Friday for allegedly raping his 21-year-old colleague at a garment shop on Juhu Tara Road.

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According to police, the accused, Vikas Verma, pulled down the shutter of the shop saying that civic officials would harass them if they keep the shop open, and then sexually assaulted her.

Verma is a resident of Vakola, while the survivor lived in Dharavi.

The woman, in her statement, said that on August 5 her manager had asked her to help Verma as he was alone, so she went to the shop. However, around 6.15pm, Verma told her that BMC officials would inspect shops and if they find any shops open, they would penalise and harass them. Verma then switched off CCTV cameras, lights and pulled down the shutter and locked it from inside and then sexually assaulted her, stated the complainant.

Shriram Koregaonkar, senior inspector, Santacruz police station, said, “She shared her ordeal with her aunt and they filed a complaint at Dharavi police station. But since the incident had occurred under Santacruz police’s jurisdiction, the case was transferred.”

“We have arrested the accused under sections 376 (rape), 342 (wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, and are investigating the case,” Koregaonkar said.