Psychologist held for rape of teen
Victim came to him for counselling
The Kasturba Marg police have arrested a prominent psychologist, Dr Sanjoy Mukherjee, for allegedly raping a patient in her teens in 2018.
The police said, the psychologist had raped her and allegedly recorded the incident, threatening to make the video public if she disclosed it to anybody.
The doctor has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for rape and unnatural sex.
In 2018, the teen, a college student, was battling with anxiety and her parents noticed her plight and decided to get her help. They searched for a reputed psychologist in the Borivli area and were impressed with Mukherjee's credentials, as he described himself as the recipient of 'India's best psychologist award' in 2016 and a marriage counsellor. Mukherjee saw the teen for the first time in August 2018.
In this first session, the teen was accompanied by her mother, who sat outside in the waiting room while she was alone with Mukherjee. According to the complaint, in the first session, Mukherjee told her that she was good looking and young girls like her dressed in a ‘hot’ and ‘sexy’ manner. He further asked her to shed her tomboyish look and constantly remind herself that she was 'hot' and 'sexy'.
“In the process of counselling the teen, he allegedly came close to her and touched her cheek, making her uncomfortable. After the first session, the teen told her parents that she felt better and did not feel the need to go back, withholding from them what had happened,” said a police officer. However, her parents made another appointment for her to see the psychologist. In the next session, the teen was accompanied by her grandfather. This time, Mukherjee took her to his house, which is close to his clinic in Borivli. He led her to his bedroom, where he allegedly raped her. “After the sexual assault, as the teen stood traumatised and shivering, Mukherjee bragged that he had done the same to several of his female patients and it was completely normal. He then intimidated her into silence by saying if she spoke about the incident to anyone, he would upload the video of their ‘private session’ that he had recorded,” said the police. The teen decided she did not want to visit Mukherjee’s clinic again, but was anxious to secure the video clip, so she went to his clinic for the third time. Once again, the doctor took her to his house. When she tried to fend off his advances saying she was menstruating, he subjected her to unnatural sex. Once again, the teen did not confide in her parents but told them she wanted to see a female psychologist. Accordingly, she began visiting a female psychologist in 2019 and did so for a year. Until this week, the girl had not spoken to her new psychologist about her previous trauma. Only when the doctor insisted she open up about her fears and anxieties, did the teen tell her about the rapes. The doctor then suggested the teen tell her parents also, which she did, and accordingly a complaint was lodged against Mukherjee on Monday. The following day, the police arrested Mukherjee and booked him for rape and unnatural sex. During primary investigation, Mukherjee confessed to having established sexual relations with the teen, but claimed it was consensual. Meanwhile, the police have seized his mobile phones for further investigation and sent them for forensic analysis.