A DAY after a Mumbai resident was arrested on charges of raping a 37-year-old Brazilian national, it has come to light that five days before the rape case was registered, a friend of the woman had approached the Cuffe Parade police to inform it about the incident. While the police had then taken a complaint application, a case was registered only on Monday following the intervention of the Brazilian consulate.
Padmakar Nandekar (52), who has been arrested in the case, is a resident of south Mumbai.
“We had received a complaint application initially. Later, she wrote to the consulate. Officials from the consulate then came to the police station and got a case registered,” said Rashmi Jadhav, senior Inspector from Cuffe Parade police.
In her statement to the police, the woman had said that she is a member of an international social networking group. Nandekar’s daughter is also a member, and the victim, who came to Mumbai in August 2018, was staying with them. “As per an agreement clause followed by the networking group, Nandekar’s daughter was the woman’s guardian in the city. So, Nandekar was helping the Brazilian national with her stay,” said a police officer.
The complainant has alleged that during her stay, the accused made her feel uncomfortable. She alleged that earlier this year, Nandekar had taken her to Kerala under the pretext of setting up a meeting for her with a spiritual leader.
“In Kerala, the accused had allegedly booked a single room and asked her not to tell his wife, which again made her uncomfortable,” said an officer.
On their return, the woman decided to move out of the Nandekar’s home and after finding a new guardian in the social group, she packed her bags and moved to Bandra. On April 15, Nandekar asked her to meet him over dinner.
“The accused picked her up from Churchgate station. They went to a five-star hotel, where he allegedly spiked her drinks,” said the officer. The complainant has claimed that she does not remember the exact incident but had woken up next to the accused the next morning.
The woman then informed her parents about the incident, who then contacted the officials of networking group. The case was registered on Monday and Nandekar was arrested on the intervening night.
