Man held for raping ex-lover in Palghar

PALGHAR: A 23-year-old man from Boisar in Maharashtra's Palghar district was arrested on Monday for allegedly holding his former lover captive in a lodge and raping her overnight, police said on Tuesday. The alleged incident occurred on the intervening night of February 10 and 11, a police officer said. The accused, identified as Faisal Saifi, and the 21-year-old victim had been in physical relationship since 2017 until recently before the woman spurned him, he said. Saifi had secretly filmed their intimate moments and used to blackmail the woman into maintaining physical relations with him, the officer said. On Sunday night, he called the woman to the lodge under the pretext of deleting the video clippings, but raped her repeatedly by holding her captive, the officer said. Saifi finally allowed the victim to go on February 12 morning, the officer said. The woman then approached the local police station and lodged a complaint against Saifi. Police arrested Saifi from Boisar and booked him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for rape and criminal intimidation.