Sakinaka rape, murder over monetary dispute: Mumbai Police
Since the victim was a Dalit, the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has been invoked against the accused, who is already facing rape and murder charges, Nagrale said at a press conference.
monetary dispute led to the brutal rape and murder of a 32-year-old Dalit woman in Sakinaka last week, Mumbai Police commissioner Hemant Nagrale said on Monday, adding that the victim and the lone accused in the case, who has confessed to the crime, knew each other.
The weapon used in the incident has been recovered, he added.
Since the victim was a Dalit, the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has been invoked against the accused, who is already facing rape and murder charges, Nagrale said at a press conference.
On September 10, the 32-year-old woman was raped and brutalised with a rod by a man inside a stationary tempo in suburban Sakinaka. She succumbed to her injuries during treatment early on Saturday.
“We have the sequence of events, like when the victim reached the spot, when the accused reached the spot, how the crime took place - everything is on record,” Nagrale said.
The accused, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, worked as a driver and lived on a pavement in the same area. He was identified with the help of CCTV footage collected from the area and traced within a few hours of the incident, the police have said.
The police have taken up this case on priority and a charge-sheet will be filed within one month, he added.
“We will send all evidences for DNA analysis. All relevant CCTV footage has been collected from the area. There was some monetary dispute between the two (accused and victim) due to which the incident took place,” the senior IPS officer said.
Earlier in the day, amid severe backlash from the Opposition parties over the case, the Shiv Sena termed Mumbai the “safest city” in the world for women and there should be no doubt about it in anyone’s mind.
“The rape and murder of the woman in Sakinaka has shocked one and all. But, Mumbai is the safest city in the world for women and there should be no doubt about it in anyone’s mind,” said an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana.
Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with the senior officials from state police force and home department, where he issued a slew of directives regarding women’s safety. “Police force should be more vigilant and alert to keep up its formidable reputation. Fingers are being raised over the capability of the force and it needs to be taken seriously by it,” he said.