35-year-old booked for raping, cheating woman of Rs 15 lakh

Sahar Police have booked a 35-year-old man for allegedly raping a woman after spiking her drink at an Andheri hotel. The woman, who met the accused on a social networking website, often called her at lavish hotels and raped her on the pretext of marrying her. Moreover, he also asked her to pay the bills, thereby cheating her to the tune of Rs 15 lakh. Police are yet to arrest the accused.

The 44-year-old married woman, who is the complainant, had befriended the accused through Facebook. Since the man had mentioned on his Facebook profile that he was a teacher at a Pune-based college and had contacts there, the woman wanted to seek his help to reserve an admission for her niece. The duo exchanged numbers and on this pretext and began chatting.

In 2017, when the accused had visited Mumbai, he invited the woman for coffee and allegedly spiked her drink with a drug, which left her unconscious. When the woman gained consciousness, she found herself lying naked with scratch marks all over her body in a hotel room's bed with the accused. After raising an alarm, the man professed his love and promised to marry her.

The woman fell prey to his promises and the couple continued to meet in lavish hotel rooms. However, the man would always claim he was cashless and made the woman clear the bills. On many occasions, the man also asked for money from the complainant on the pretext of fixing his car after an accident or otherwise. The woman gave him over Rs 15 lakh, but the man kept demanding.

In 2018, when the man asked for more money, the complainant declined to fulfill his demand, after which he threatened to post their intimate pictures on social media or share it with her family. Fearing defamation, the woman attempted suicide by swallowing 80 sleeping pills, but was fortunately saved. However, the man continued demanding money again on March 9, after which she approached the police and lodged a complaint.

While the police have booked the accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for rape, cheating and criminal intimidation, no arrests have yet been made.