Six men from Pimpri were arrested on Friday for allegedly raping a 21-year-old student from Nerul in Navi Mumbai between March and May. The woman was living with her grandmother in Pimpri since December 2016.In her police complaint, the survivor alleged that the six men threatened to kill not just her, but also her grandmother and uncle if she did not give in to their demands. “During interrogation, the men admitted to having exploited her,” said police sub-inspector Ratna Sawant. “We also have witnesses who had seen her with the suspects on different occasions.”Police said the woman developed a friendship with the main suspect, who lived in her grandmother’s neighbourhood, during evening wal-ks. “They started having a physical relationship. Later, he introduced her to his friends,” Sawant said. “They are all educated; while some are engineers working with private firms, the others are commerce graduates.”The survivor claimed the six men then started sexually exploiting her. She alleged that they would threaten her and take her to different places in three of the suspects’ cars. She also alleged that they would spike her coffee or aerated drink. Usually, they would take turns to drive her to an isolated spot near an engineering college or at Pimpri industrial estate. “At times, they would gangrape her in the car,” Sawant said.The woman said she did not reveal anything to her grandmother because of the death threats. “About a week ago, she started complaining of pain. Her grandmother took her to a private hospital in Pimpri and she recovered after a few days. But when she again developed pain, her grandmother sent her to her parents in Nerul,” said senior inspector Vivek Mugalikar.Mugalikar said the woman’s parents admitted her to a hospital where, during medical examination, she told the doctors of the sexual abuse. “She lodged a complaint with the Navi Mumbai police. An FIR was registered, which was transferred to the Pimpri police ,” he said. tnn