Rape attempt at Grant Road hotel: 19-year-old arrested

Police said Desai had booked a room in the hotel a month ago

Krunal Desai, 19, the accused allegedly involved in the rape attempt on a 17-year-old student at a hotel near Grant Road station, was arrested from Gujarat on Friday.

Desai allegedly called the girl to the spot on Tuesday, threatening to circulate her morphed images on social networking sites and Whatsapp, if she refused. Scared, the girl went with her friend to meet Desai. The accused attempted to rape her inside the hotel room. When she resisted, he assaulted and strangled her, after which she fell unconscious. Desai left the spot thinking she was dead, said the police.

An officer from the police station, “The accused may have been in love with the girl, but as she turned down his advances, he may have taken such an extreme step.”

Police said Desai had booked a room in the hotel a month ago. “Desai didn’t call up his family at Tardeo since Tuesday, instead visited his relatives in Gujarat. We traced his location on the basis of Desai’s call from a PCO in Gujarat,” said the officer. Netaji Bhopale, senior inspector, Gamdevi police station, said, “We are now trying to find out whether he has been involved in any such incident in the past.”