

PUNE: The Bhosari police arrested three men on Saturday for allegedly raping a mentally challenged woman in Bopkhel. The rape survivor identified the suspects in a trap laid by police at Pune railway station. A sketch of one of the men, based on the description given by the woman, also helped police nab them.

The 30-year-old mentally challenged woman was allegedly raped in Lonavla and in Pune, between April 30 and May 2.

The arrested men include Vijaypal Bhikki Singh (22) of Khandala, who originally hails from Rajasthan and Bilavar Hafiz Shaikh (24) and Yasin Shakir Khan (35) of Lonavla, who hail from Uttar Pradesh. Singh works as a watchman at a bungalow owned by a Bollywood actress, while Shaikh and Khan run a hotel in Lonavla.

Police officials said that on April 30, the woman had a quarrel with her mother. She left home and walked up to Dapodi, where a man gave her some money. She then went to Pune railway station, where Singh befriended her. He asked her to accompany him to Lonavla. She refused at first, but went along when he promised to marry her.

"Singh took her to a lodge in Lonavla and raped her. The woman said that he was accompanied by three other men who also raped her. They took her to a garden in Lonavla during the next couple of days. Singh then brought her to a room in Pune and raped her again," said Ravikiran Darawade, assistant inspector of the Bhosari police station.

On the morning of May 2, Singh left her near Pune railway station. She was not ready to go home, but he convinced her to go and get some clothes. She returned home and narrated her ordeal to her mother, who registered a complaint with police. A medical examination confirmed that she had been raped.

"The description and information given by the survivor played an important role in arresting the suspects. Police search teams were formed to trace the men. The survivor had told us that Singh frequently visited Pune station. Police officials, with the help of counsellors, took her to Pune station and asked her to identify the suspects. She was wearing a scarf so that the men would not recognize her. On Saturday afternoon, Singh had come to Pune station and she identified him. He was immediately arrested and told police about his accomplices. All three men have confessed to the crime," Darawade said.

