Woman held for taking money to withdraw rape complaint

THANE: A 25-year-old woman who accused four Railway Protection Force personnel of raping her inside a Diva police chowky in January this year was arrested on Friday

THANE: A 25-year-old woman who accused four Railway Protection Force personnel of raping her inside a Diva police chowky in January this year was arrested on Friday for taking money from one of the accused to withdraw her complaint.

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The police, acting on a tip-off, found the woman and her friend accepting Rs 95,000 at a hotel in Dombivli from PK Singh.

“We arrested both of them from the hotel around 4pm. The two changed the spot where they would collect the cash four times, before finally deciding on the Dombivli hotel. The woman and her friend initially asked for Rs 20,00,000 from the personnel,” said Abhishek Trimikhe, deputy commissioner of police, zone 1.

On Thursday, the woman told the police she was gang-raped in January this year by PK Singh, Baghel Singh, Dipak Rathod and BK Singh inside the Diva police chowky. She said she had become familiar with PK Singh as he was from her village. On January 15 this year, the woman claimed Bhagel called her around 2am and told her to come to the police station as PK Singh had met with an accident. The woman claimed that when she reached the chowky, she found all four drinking and watching a porn film.

A police inspector from Mumbra police station said the woman alleged she was offered a spiked drink, fell unconscious and was raped.

With this new development, Trimukhe said the probe into the sexual assault will be done alongside another one for extortion.