Mumbai: 'Forced to withdraw case,' claims 29-year-old woman after filing rape case against ex-corporator

Posters in support of the woman were put up in Pratiksha Nagar; (right) Mangesh Satamkar with the complainant

I am being forced to withdraw the case," claims a 29-year-old woman who had filed a rape case against ex-corporator Mangesh Satamkar of the Shiv Sena, even after providing all the evidence. "The police are in the process of filing a summary report stating they haven't found any evidence in the case and are filing a closure report," claims the woman who demands justice from the police. The woman had also requested protection from the chief minister because her life is at risk as the police support the ex-corporator, and she is scared for her life as she lives with just her sister in Mumbai.

The woman claims that soon after Satamkar joined the Shinde faction of Shiv Sena, the police started filing a closure report in the matter. "In July 2023, when Satamkar was joining the Shinde faction, I was forced to sit at the police station, where the police recorded a video of me forcing me to say that it all happened due to a misunderstanding and I am withdrawing the case. Similarly, the police brought a statement written by them and made me sign it so that they could proceed with the closure report. I beg the authorities to investigate the case as he is a culprit who should be sentenced and punished for the act. The police claim women are safe in Mumbai, but not from the leaders who are close to politicians," she added.

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The woman claims she filed a rape case against the ex-corporator Mangesh Satamkar in May 2023. The woman, working in a private firm, claims she has been asked to be present in court on February 29 to give her statement. If she is not present, the case will be closed. "I don't want to close the case. I want him to be punished. The case was registered only when I provided evidence to the police. Then how come they haven't found any evidence now? If I give a statement against Satamkar in court, he will kill me. After the case was registered, he continuously threatened me, sent goons to my house, and also executed an attack on me near the Unit 4 crime branch office near Antop Hill," she added. "Even after filing an FIR, he dared to come to the hospital when my late father was admitted. He first threatened and then assured me he would marry me and asked me to withdraw the case. He also threatened that my family would face consequences. So, I was scared of him. How can an accused approach the victim when the case is ongoing? And why are the police filing a closure report? Let the court decide and verify the evidence and give the decision and punish him," she said.

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The woman appealed to the authorities to help her. "I have recordings where he claims that nothing will happen to him. Many such women were cheated in the same way. When I filed the case, he convinced me to marry him and, using sweet talk, asked me to withdraw it," added the woman.

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Rape case filed at Antop Hill

The Antop Hill police in May 2023 filed a case under Sections 376(2)(n), 312, 420, 504, and 506(2) of the Indian Penal Code. The woman in her complaint alleged she was working at the office of the ex-corporator Satamkar. From February 2023 to May 2023, the accused in Shiv Sena Shakha, at his house, and a friend's farmhouse in Lonavala had allegedly raped her.

Satamkar said, "The woman is making false allegations. If the court has asked her to appear and explain her side, then she should do the same."

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Bhagawat Garande, the senior police inspector at Antop Hill police station, claims he was not aware of the case as he had recently joined the police station and would check about the same. "But if the court has asked her to be present and give her side of the story, the court will further initiate action accordingly," he said.

Raju Chavan, the police officer who was then investigating the matter, refused to speak on the issue and said, "I have already been transferred from the police station, and I am not aware of what happened in the case now."

Feb 29
Day woman has to be present in court

Feb 2023-May 2023
Period during which Satamkar allegedly raped the woman

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