19 April,2026 05:04 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
The accused is currently on the run. Representational Pic
Police have registered a case against a 35-year-old social activist in Thane for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman and using her objectionable videos to blackmail her, officials said on Sunday, the PTI reported.
The accused is currently on the run, and efforts are underway to trace him, Mumbra Police said.
According to police, the accused allegedly lured the woman under the false pretext of marriage in July 2024 and took her to different locations in Mahape and Mumbra, where he sexually assaulted her. He also filmed the acts and used the videos to blackmail the woman.
Police said the accused also allegedly forced the victim to steal sensitive files and documents from government offices.
When the victim tried to resist, the accused allegedly assaulted her by hitting her on the head with a stick and kicking her, officials added.
Based on the victim's complaint, Mumbra Police on Saturday registered a case under sections 69 (sexual intercourse by deceitful means), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The investigation has been transferred to the Thane Crime Branch. Officials said a probe is also underway into the possible involvement of an organised syndicate.
Police are tracing the accused's digital footprint and conducting raids at suspected hideouts.
A special POCSO court in Thane acquitted a man accused of raping and impregnating his minor stepsister after the victim turned hostile and a DNA test established he was not the father of the child she delivered later.
Special Judge Ruby U Malvankar acquitted the man, who was 20 at the time of the alleged incident, of Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act charges related to aggravated rape, causing hurt by means of poison, or any stupefying, intoxicating, or unwholesome drug/substance with the intent to commit an offence, among others.
As per the prosecution, the man gave his then 14-year-old stepsister a spiked soft drink and committed sexual assault in December 2023, leading to her getting pregnant and delivering a child in September 2024.
During the trial, the victim denied that the accused had administered any intoxicating substance or committed sexual assault, adding that she implicated him "out of fear."
Concluding the prosecution had failed to prove the victim was a "child" as per the legal definition (due to conflicting age reports) or that the accused committed the crime, the court, in its order of April 17, ordered his immediate acquittal.
(With PTI inputs)
