Mumbai: Two held for raping hearing and impaired woman in shanty

The Kherwadi police have arrested two men for raping a 25-year-old hearing and speech impaired woman inside a shanty at Thane on October 6. The woman, who worked as a house-help at Bandra (E) highrise, was abducted by the accused duo identified as Sachin Kurhade (22) and Lakhan Kale (19) on the pretext of marrying her and was later taken to Thane, where they raped her.The duo has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and was arrested on Tuesday morning.Police said, the 25-year-old woman was approached by the two accused Kurhade and Kale through a WhatsApp video call and asked her to meet near the Kalpataru Sparkle building at Bandra (E), where she was employed as a house help. The woman fell into the trap and met the accused duo, who abducted her. Kale offered to drop her home and raped her again. When the woman was dropped off home, she narrated the incident to her mother, who approached police and registered a complaint.Kherwadi police registered a case of rape and kidnapping, following which an investigation was initiated. Police scrutinised the CCTV camera footage of the building, where they identified Kurhade and Kale. A network of informers was activated, who gave a tip-off about the duo's location, from where they were arrested on Tuesday morning.The duo has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for kidnapping (section 366) and rape of a woman suffering from mental or physical disability (section 376(2)). They were produced in a local magistrate court on Tuesday and remanded in police custody.