AURANGABAD: A constable attached to the City police station in Osmanabad town has been arrested on charges of rape and abetting suicide after a 32-year-old woman ended her life and left a suicide note implicating him.
Haribhau Kolekar (40) was charged and arrested on Wednesday, soon after the victim’s husband lodged a complaint. A local court has remanded him in police custody till March 9.
“We immediately registered an offence and suspended the accused policeman. We have also initiated a departmental inquiry against him,” said superintendent of police Raj Tilak Roushan.
The officer said that an inquiry is also under way to check the dates on which the accused was carrying the official weapon.
According to police, the woman hanged herself at her residence on Tuesday and left behind a suicide note blaming Kolekar for allegedly threatening and raping her since September 2020. The woman has stated in the note that the harassment had become unbearable, forcing her to take the extreme step.
The woman has also stated in the suicided note that her husband should in no way be blamed for anything, said police.
Preliminary inquiry has revealed that the accused and the victim lived in the same locality.
Police said that Kolekar barged into the woman’s home on finding her alone in September, raped her after issuing a threat with his official firearm.
“The constable raped her on multiple occasions after that and the woman was too scared to speak to anyone about it,” said police.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)