Maharashtra: Nursing student drugged, raped by auto driver in Ratnagiri, cops launch manhunt to nab accused

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At least five teams of the Ratnagiri Police in Maharashtra have launched a manhunt to search and nab for the auto rickshaw driver accused of raping a 19-year-old nursing student after allegedly drugging her, an official said on Tuesday, the IANS reported.

The incident, which came to light on Monday when the 19-year-old nursing student informed her family and later lodged a complaint with the Ratnagiri City Police Station.

The suspect in the case is wanted for the alleged rape of a 19-year-old student nurse who had hired his auto rickshaw to go home after her classes. En route, the auto rickshaw driver offered her warm water purportedly spiked with some intoxicants which she drank and became unconscious. He then allegedly drove her off to a deserted spot and allegedly raped her before dumping her and fleeing from the spot, according to the IANS.

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"We have formed five police teams which are on the lookout for him and also scanning CCTV footage of the route from where the auto was hired," the police station official Mahesh Toraskar told IANS.

Meanwhile, the shocking incident sparked huge protests in Ratnagiri town and other parts of the district for several hours with traffic blockades, as students, nurses and parents squatted on roads demanding the arrest of the culprit and the death sentence for him.

Toraskar said that on Tuesday, the situation remained calm and there were no untoward incidents reported from the coastal town, as per the IANS.

This is another in a series of atrocities against women, besides girl students and even tiny-tots in nurseries, reported from different parts of Maharashtra in the past fortnight that resulted in massive police and public furore, including the heinous Badlapur sexual assault case of two girls.

Meanwhile, the accused in the Badlapur case, has been sent to 14 days of judicial custody by the court on Monday. He was produced in court amid high security to avoid any law and order issues, as protests demanding that he be hanged were underway.

According to the police, the accused was presented in Kalyan court on August 21. Additional Sessions Judge VA Patravale had ordered police custody until August 26. "During this period, the SIT (Special Investigation Team) interrogated the accused and his family members to gather evidence. On Monday, after his police custody ended, he was again produced in court and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody," said a police officer.

(with IANS inputs)