Journalism of Courage
This is an archive article published on January 10, 2024
Pune photographer raped and assaulted by man she met on chess app: police
The man allegedly raped her after claiming that he had suffered a stroke and desperately wanted to meet her in person.
A FIR in the case was registered on Tuesday at a police station in Pune on a complaint lodged by the woman, who is in her mid-twenties. (File photo)
A woman photographer from Pune was raped and physically assaulted by a man who had promised to marry her after they met online on a chess app, police said on Wednesday, adding that they had launched a search for the man who claimed to be a resident of Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
A FIR in the case was registered on Tuesday at a police station in Pune on a complaint lodged by the woman, who is in her mid-twenties. According to the complainant, she came in contact with the man in November 2022 and they started chatting with each other in the chess app’s messenger section. Sometime later he messaged her on the gaming app that he had met with an accident and would like to talk to her. He also sent her photos of his purported injuries and medicines.
During their conversations over the next few weeks, the man promised to marry her, according to the complainant. He told her the name he used on the gaming application was not his real name, revealed his “true identity” and said that he belonged to Ahmedabad.
A while later he told her that he had suffered a stroke and desperately wanted to meet her in person. The two met at a shopping mall in Pune sometime around May 2023. He later took her to his rented accommodation in Pune and allegedly raped her.
The complainant further said that after she asked the man about his marriage promise, he started avoiding her and made her drink boiling water, after which she had to be hospitalised.
In October 2023, the man again met her and promised to bring his mother and all his documents from home, for which he said he was going to Gujarat. After this meeting, he went incommunicado and blocked her on all messenger and online accounts. He could not be found in the rented accommodation, either.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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