4 give woman drink laced with drug, rape her; held

MUMBAI: Officers from Mankhurd police station on Thursday arrested four people for allegedly raping a 44-year-old Dharavi resident last week.

One of the accused – Abdul Jillani Sattar Sheikh, 34, – and the woman knew each other. On June 24, Sheikh called her to Rahim’s home under the pretext of attending his child’s birthday party. He then allegedly laced her drink with sedatives, following which he, along with the other three accused – Hyder Ali Sardar Sheikh alias Hira, 35; Murad Mehboob Sheikh alias Raj, 29; and Mohammed Mudashir Nabi Sheikh alias Rahim, 34, raped her when she was in a semi-conscious state, said police. The woman managed to flee and visited a civic hospital. “After the woman narrated the incident, the police was informed. Our officers visited the hospital and recorded her statement and lodged a case of gang rape,” said Lakhmi Gautam, additional commissioner of police (east region).

“In her complaint, she said that after reaching Sheikh’s home, she tried to leave when she realised that there was no birthday party there. But the four convinced her to stay,” said an officer from Mankhurd police station.

The woman’s preliminary medical report confirmed that she was raped by more than one person and also revealed that she had injuries all over her body. “The woman underwent treatment at the hospital for two days. We collected her clothes, and are in the process of collecting other evidence. On Wednesday, we registered a first information report under sections 376D (gang rape) and 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and arrested the four accused. A local court remanded them in police custody till July 8,” inspector Kishore Kharat.

2 YRS AFTER BRIDGE COLLAPSE