Mumbai: Even after months, man faces no case for raping colleague

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A 27-year-old man working in a Borivli-based old age home is roaming free even months after he raped a 54-year-old colleague and impregnated her because no case has been registered against him.

Social activist Padmini (she goes by one name), who was the first person to notice the survivor's baby bump last December, when the latter had already reached the mid stage of her pregnancy, and bring the matter to the notice of the cops, has alleged that the police were trying to hush up the matter.

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Speaking to mid-day, Padmini said, "The survivor was scared to share the matter with anyone. Last year in December I approached the manager of the old age home but he was not willing to cooperate in handing over culprit Hafiz Shaikh to the police. So I called the police control room and informed them about it." She further said that though a police team had visited the old age home and inquired about the matter, no case was registered against Shaikh.

According to her, the cops were trying to hush up the matter. The home authorities had paid Rs 1 lakh to the survivor for her medical expenses. "Several other elderly women, whose children are settled abroad, stay at the old age home. It is a matter of their safety and security as well. Shaikh is a threat to them and the society as a whole," the social activist said. "The survivor is undergoing treatment at a private hospital. Her medical expenses are very high. We need to be extra careful about her health, as she became pregnant at the age of 54," Padmini added.

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According to sources, the manager of the old age home has been deducting Rs 5,000 each of Shaikh's and his wife's salaries to make them repay the Rs 1 lakh they paid the rape survivor.

When contacted, Senior Inspector of Borivli police station Laxman Dumbre confirmed the matter and said, "The victim does not want to register a case. If she wants to do it now, then she can visit the police station."

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