Man held for rape, forcing woman to abort in Mumbai

The Byculla police on Sunday arrested a 26-year-old Titwala resident for allegedly raping a domestic help on the pretext of marriage and forcing her to abort her second child. The accused, who works as a caretaker in a hospital, was arrested almost four months after a complaint was registered.

As per the victim's complaint, the accused (name withheld) had promised to marry her and had been in a physical relationship with her since September 2008. The victim had earlier given birth to their first child, a girl. However, when she conceived again, he gave her abortion pills and allegedly forced her to terminate the pregnancy, says the complaint.

"The victim has alleged that the accused married some other woman, thereby breaching her trust. The victim then approached Byculla police and a complaint was registered against him on July 31," said an officer from Byculla police station.

The accused was apprehended, after which he admitted to the charges. He has been booked under sections 376 (rape), 313 (causing miscarriage without woman's consent) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, and remanded to police custody till November 27 by the court. The police will be taking his DNA samples for analysis.