A 20-year-old woman, fearing recrimination from her parents, inserted a surgical blade and stones into her private parts after being raped by an auto-rickshaw driver in Mumbai earlier this week.

The auto driver was arrested on rape charges, but police say the investigation revealed a more complex narrative.

The matter came to the fore when the woman, a resident of Nalasopara in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, contacted authorities from Ram Mandir railway station in Goregaon. She alleged that an auto driver had assaulted her after initially telling police she had travelled to Mumbai by train earlier that day.

However, during the investigation, the woman revealed that she had gone to Arnala beach in Virar with the auto driver. Unable to secure a room in a guest house due to lack of identification, they decided to spend the night on the beach.

The woman alleged that the driver raped her there and then fled.

Fearing punishment from her parents upon returning home, the woman told police she purchased a surgical blade and inserted it, along with stones, into her private parts. She subsequently made her way to the railway station but sought medical attention after experiencing severe pain.

At the hospital, doctors removed the foreign objects during an emergency procedure. Based on her complaint, a rape case was filed against the autorickshaw driver.

After she regained consciousness, police personnel took the woman's statement but noticed discrepancies in her account. Upon questioning, the entire matter unravelled.

Initially, she claimed to be orphaned, a statement later contradicted when her father came forward. He informed police that she had filed a previous rape complaint against two individuals in 2023.

After an intensive search, police arrested the auto driver, identified as Raj Ratan, on Thursday night. Meanwhile, they are continuing their investigation into the incident and the woman’s conflicting statements.

Source: India Today