A woman, who was raped and assaulted in Mumbai’s Saki Naka area, died on Saturday, reported India Today, citing the hospital where she was admitted. The woman in her 30s was hospitalised in a critical condition on Friday.
One man, identified as Mohan Chauhan, 45, has been arrested. The accused was booked on Friday [sure] under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code.
A magistrate court on Saturday sent him to police custody till September 21.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Maheshwar Reddy said that the police received a call around 3.30 am on Friday that a man and woman were fighting in the Saki Naka area, according to News18.
“Upon reaching [the site], the victim was found in a tempo with bleeding injuries and a first information report was registered after she was examined at the Rajwadi hospital,” he said.
When the police scanned the CCTV footage, they saw Chouhan assaulting the woman around 2.25 am on a footpath in Saki Naka, following which he took her to the tempo, The Indian Express reported. The police located him in Saki Naka around 1.30 pm on Friday.
The police said that the accused had inserted an unknown object into her private parts, reported The Indian Express.
Chouhan, who hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur city, is married with two children.
The police have contacted the woman’s mother, who lives in the city’s Andheri East area. She informed the police that that her daughter was asked to leave the house after she got into a fight with someone.
‘Unfortunate reminder’ of 2012 Delhi gang rape: Devendra Fadnavis
The Maharashtra government has promised a speedy conclusion to the case. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that he had spoken to the Mumbai police commissioner about expediting the investigation.
The National Commission for Women said that it has taken suo moto cognisance of the crime and will soon start its investigation. It also requested the police to conduct a fair and time-bound investigation.
Commission’s chairperson Rekha Sharma asked the Mumbai Police to immediately arrest the all the culprits and provide assistance to the woman’s family.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party sought capital punishment for the accused, PTI reported. Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis said the accused should be tried in a fast-track court so that the accused is punished at the earliest.
“I know that awarding a sentence is in the hands of the judiciary,” said Fadnavis. “But I feel the culprit in the Saki Naka rape should be hanged to death. Existing laws are sufficient to take tough actions against the culprits. It is the will power of the state to take tough decisions and follow it up till the logical end.”
Fadnavis also said that the incident was an “unfortunate reminder” of the 2012 Delhi gangrape. Six people had raped a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in a moving bus before throwing her on the street. She died while undergoing treatment.
Her death led to several protests and more conversation about crimes against women. It also led to some changes in law. Four of the six accused were hanged in 2020 – eight years after the incident.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s BJP Vice President Chitra Wagh recommended that a new law be introduced for women’s safety under which the accused would not get bail easily, PTI reported.
“There are experts, lawyers and state judiciary department who need to come up with better measures that would work as deterrents,” she added.
Wagh also questioned Minister of State for Women and Child Development Yashomati Thakur on the lack of a chairperson of the State Women’s Commission.
“Thakur should not forget that she is a Cabinet minister,” Wagh said. “She cannot escape from our questions on women’s safety. She should tell us the reasons behind not appointing a chairman of the State Women’s Commission”.
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