Nursing student in Ratnagiri says she was raped, police form SIT to probe
No clarity due to changing versions by the 19-year-old, say police
3 min read
Following the incident, nursing students started a protest in the area and the girl’s family also came on the streets seeking quick action on the part of the police. (Express Photo/representational )THE RATNAGIRI police in Maharashtra are investigating an incident where a 19-year-old nursing student said she was sexually assaulted by an autorickshaw driver early on Tuesday. Police have registered an FIR and formed an SIT to probe the case.
According to the woman’s statement to the police, she went to meet her parents in Devrukh town in Sangameshwar and returned via a State Transport (ST) bus overnight and reached Ratnagiri city, where she was studying in a nursing college, early Tuesday.
She got off at the bus stop and took an autorickshaw to her rented apartment, which she shared with two others. She told the police that when she got in, the autorickshaw driver gave her water to drink. She said that she felt unwell and soon lost consciousness after drinking the water.
According to her statement, when she regained consciousness, she found herself at a ground and called up her friends who informed the police about the same. She suspected that the water was spiked and that she was sexually assaulted by the autorickshaw driver, following which an FIR was registered.
When police began scouring through CCTV footage from the spot where she got off the ST bus, they found that she was walking to her residence and had not taken an autorickshaw. Her rented flat is near the bus stop, police said.
When they asked her about the discrepancy, she said that she was confused and had walked to her house when a man attacked her with pepper spray and sexually assaulted her, an officer said.
Police also found some scratch marks on her hand and are now awaiting her medical report to find out if she was sexually assaulted. Police spoke to the woman’s college principal and her parents and found that the woman suffered from epilepsy.
Nearly two weeks ago, her parents had come to the college from Devrukh as she was not permitted to give her exams due to low attendance. She was eventually allowed to attend exams.
An officer said that on account of the changing version of events, they do not have clarity on the sequence of events.
Ratnagiri SP Dhananjay Kulkarni said, “We have formed an SIT led by a female officer and comprising 11 personnel. We are probing the matter and will soon solve the case.”
Following the incident, nursing students held a protest in the area seeking quicker action from the police.
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