Nursing student from Maharashtra alleges rape by rickshaw driver, police forms SIT

MUMBAI: A 19-year-old woman nursing course student was allegedly raped by an unidentified auto-rickshaw driver in a forested area in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, police said on Tuesday. Police have set up a Special Investigation Team consisting of an inspector and ten officials, a day after the alleged incident which occurred when the victim was returning to Ratnagiri city from Devrukh town in the morning hours, an official said.

However, police found discrepancies in the victim's statement. Initially, she stated that the accused had laced her drinking water with some sedatives. Later, she changed her statement saying the driver used a spray to make her unconscious, the official said. The woman stated when she regained consciousness, she found herself lying in a forest near Champak Maidan on the outskirts of Ratnagiri city.

Her personal belongings were lying scattered at the spot, the official said. The woman called up her sister from her mobile phone and narrated her ordeal. She walked to the main and hitched a ride on a two-wheeler to reach her rented home in Ratnagiri, where she is pursuing the nursing course. She was taken to the district civil hospital where police were alerted about the incident, the official said.

A female police officer of the Additional Superintendent of Police rank spoke to her in person after which a complaint was lodged, he said. Based on the complaint, a case of rape has been registered against the unidentified autorickshaw driver at Ratnagiri city police station, he said. Meanwhile, protests were staged by some organisations outside the hospital in Ratnagiri demanding the arrest of the accused on Monday.