Maharastra: Rape accused arrested

Police tracked down the accused, identified as Samir Sheikh, by asking the complainant to keep talking to him on mobile phone, said sub-inspector Sachin Patil of Vakola police station.

Mumbai: City police on Tuesday arrested a 23-year-old man from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (earlier Aurangabad) for allegedly raping and extorting money from a woman whom he had met through a dating app, an official said here.

Police tracked down the accused, identified as Samir Sheikh, by asking the complainant to keep talking to him on mobile phone, said sub-inspector Sachin Patil of Vakola police station.

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The accused is a driver and a resident of Sambhajinagar, he said.

A first information report (FIR) was registered against Sheikh under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 376 (rape), 384 (extortion) and 419 (punishment for cheating by personation) after a 24-year-old woman from the city lodged a complaint against him, the officer said.

As per the woman, she met Sheikh through a dating app and travelled to Sambhajinagar to meet him after he threatened to kill himself if she did not oblige.

During their meeting, he allegedly took her to a hotel and raped her.

He then started blackmailing her and forced her to pay for two mobile phones, the woman told police.

The accused’s mother also allegedly threatened her.

“We asked the complainant to keep talking with the accused on phone. Then we traced his location from the mobile phone data and nabbed him from a vegetable market in Sambhajinagar early today morning,” PSI Patil said.