Civic official arrested for rape

The city police have arrested Ashok Digambar Ghorpade ,assistant garden superintendent at the Pune Municipal Corporation.

The city police have arrested Ashok Digambar Ghorpade (41),assistant garden superintendent at the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC),for allegedly raping a 30-year-old woman from Bibvewadi. The woman had lodged a complaint of molestation against Ghorpade at the Sahkarnagar police station on Friday,after which he was arrested. Ghorpade was released on bail by the court on Saturday.

Meanwhile,the same day,the victim filed a complaint of rape against Ghorpade at the Women Grievance Redressal Cell of the Pune police commissionerate.

The Sahkarnagar police invoked the stringent Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code against Ghorpade and arrested him again on Monday afternoon. Sub-inspector BM Rathod,the investigation officer,said Ghorpade would be produced in court on Tuesday.

Sources said the woman took a heavy dose of sleeping pills on Sunday evening after which she was admitted to a hospital. Rathod said that no complaint of attempt to suicide has been registered.

The woman had said in her molestation complaint that she had been introduced to Ghorpade when she went to the PMC garden department office about two and a half years ago.

She said Ghorpade had developed good relations with her,but later started sending her obscene SMS messages. Then during a meeting at a hotel near PMC in Shivajinagar area,Ghorpade allegedly molested her.

His friend Balasaheb Dolas allegedly clicked their photographs on his mobile phone. The complainant alleged that Ghorpade visited her home a few times and on November 5,he allegedly molested her in the parking lot of her building.

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In her complaint,she alleged that Ghorpade took her to a few lodges in the city and raped her.

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