Nearly two days after former BJP legislator Narendra Mehta was booked for rape and harassing a woman corporator of his own party, the Mira Road police is still clueless about his whereabouts.
Mehta’s accomplice Sanjay Tharthare who is a co-accused, is also absconding along with the tainted former legislator.
On the other hand, the complainant claimed of receiving threats on her phone on Saturday. “Yes, based on the complaint we have lodged a non-cognizable offence against the unidentified caller," confirmed Deputy SP- Shantaram Valvi.
The police searched the residence and offices of the legislator, but he had already fled and was trying to procure an anticipatory bail, sources revealed. The complaint who hails from the backward community, has alleged that Mehta, initially on emotional grounds and later on the virtue of his political clout, sexually assaulted her for nearly two decades under the false pretext of marriage.
Meanwhile, an undated video clip in which the accused duo are seen alighting from an SUV, on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, went viral on social media platforms on Saturday.
However, the authenticity of the clip remained unestablished. A case under the under section 376 (rape) and other relevant provisions of the IPC and Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, was registered against the duo at the Mira Road police station at around 3 am on Friday.
“Investigations were on,” said SP. Dr. Shivaji Rathod. Always in the news-mostly for the wrong reasons, Mehta who shared cordial relations with leader of opposition and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, was defeated by BJP rebel Geeta Jain in the assembly elections last year. Notably, Mehta had resigned from all posts of the party on 24, February, a day before his videos went viral on social media networks.
