A foreign national was allegedly robbed and then raped in her rented residence in Bandra by an unidentified knife-wielding assailant. The police has already detained several suspects in the case.
According to the Bandra police, the victim, whose name has been withheld, woke up to sounds in her apartment on the Perry Cross Road at around 3.45 am. She was alarmed to see an unidentified man going through her belongings. Before she could raise an alarm, the man saw her and came forward to overpower her. However, the victim managed to slip away, run out of her house and knock on a neighbour’s door.
She managed to knock several times before the accused caught her around the waist, clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her back inside, locking the door behind him. He then allegedly proceeded to rape her at knifepoint before letting her go.
“The victim locked herself in the bathroom and began shouting for help. Her screams were heard by some neighbours, who knocked but on receiving no reply, called the police. Our team had to break the door down to gain access.
Prima facie inquiries have also revealed that the same accused seems to have broken into two other houses on the same road,” said Vishwas Nangre Patil, additional commissioner of police, west region.
The accused had gained entry to the victim’s house by climbing in through the window, which does not have a grill.
The police believes that burglary was the primary objective and the accused decided to take advantage of the fact that the victim was alone in the house at the time. Sources have confirmed that he also took away her clothes and at knifepoint told to her to take a bath before fleeing the scene.
“We have formed eight teams to work on the case and criminals with a history of burglary are being rounded up,” Mr Nangre Patil added.
The victim works in the music industry and stays with a roommate, who is currently in Kerala. She is originally from Spain but holds a German passport.