Three Mumbai Cops Arrested for Raping a Model

NEW DELHI: Three Mumbai cops were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping and extorting five lakh rupees from a model after she sent an SMS to Mumbai Commissioner Rakesh Maria and told him about the incident. Maria immediately ordered an investigation into the matter through Crime Branch and directed the concerned station to register an FIR.

Among the arrested are four other civilians, besides two Assistant police Inspectors, and a Constable. The latter three have been identified as Khatape, Suryavanshi, and Constable Kode.

"The three policemen have told us that they received wrong information regarding the model and hence brought her and her boyfriend to the Sangharsh Nagar chowky in Saki Naka and allegedly detained them," said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Dhananjay Kulkarni, according to media reports.

The incident happened last month on March 3, when the model and her male friend went to meet a modeling coordinator in a hotel which comes under Saki Naka jurisdiction in Andheri West.

The coordinator allegedly asked the model to pay Rs.3200 which she refused to. The coordinator then called his friends outside the hotel, among whom were the three accused cops and four other civilians.

They dragged the model and her male friend inside the police car and took them to Saki Naka police Chowky for further investigation. At the station the accused threatened the model with a charge under Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA) unless she pays them five lakh rupees. They even took 1200 rupees as fine.

The male friend then was made to go to arrange the sum, which he duly did. He collected 4.35 lakh and in the process withdrew money from several ATMs. The complainant alleged that while she was alone in the police custody, she was raped by one of the policeman, and the others snatched the bangles and other jewellery worth 80, 000.

''I have asked the crime branch to take over the investigation. As the victim has come forward with such serious allegations, we have on our own registered an FIR and started investigation. And through this we want to send a strong message to the force that such black sheep will not be tolerated in the force," Rakesh Maria reportedly said."