Mumbai: A railway mechanical engineer has been arrested for allegedly raping a 34-year-old woman. The woman, a housekeeper working on a contract basis at the railway, filed a case against Sachin Sawant, 39, on Saturday at the Kurla police station, leading to the arrest of the accused on the same day. The accused has been remanded in police custody until January 16.
According to the police, the victim has been employed at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus for the past two years. In August 2022, while cleaning the Kashi Express, the victim encountered Sawant. He asked for her name and address, took her mobile number, and later expressed interest in her. On her birthday, when she was alone in the compartment, he attempted to touch her. On August 30, 2022, he entered the compartment of the Patliputra Express where she was working alone and asked for a physical relationship, which she refused. He forcibly took her into a toilet in the AC compartment, raped her and threatened to terminate her if she disclose the incident. Fearing job loss, she kept silent.
The accused continued to rape her on multiple occasions on the mail express trains.
Sawant had also borrowed Rs30,000 and 30gm gold from her which he never returned.
The victim, facing constant harassment through WhatsApp video calls and obscene acts, filed a case against Sawant under sections 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 354 (assault with intent to outrage her modesty), 506 (criminal intimidation), 406 (breach of trust), 504 (breach of the peace), and 420 (cheating and dishonesty) of the Indian Penal Code at Kurla Railway Police Station on Saturday. The accused hails from Sangola in Solapur district.
