Rape ‘story’ in Mumbai goes awry, TV reporter attempts suicide

Pawan, who is thought to have drunk an insecticide and whose condition is stable now, has accused two Navi Mumbai police officials and two television reporters of driving him to suicide.

Navi Mumbai police commissioner Vijay Kamble and Thane police have refused to say anything about the TV programme or Bhargav’s suicide note. The freelance journalist had recently been questioned by police over what had been billed as a sting operation.

The attempted suicide is the latest twist in what began as an attempt to finger the police who have been on an 18-month drive against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The bar girl retracted her rape accusation two days after the case was filed on October 19. She said yesterday that she had lied because she was under pressure from her estranged 35-year-old husband Aminul Gazi, reportedly a Bangladeshi, and a Sahara Samay reporter who had planned the “sting operation”. Bhargav is believed to have led the Sahara reporter to the bar dancer.

“I have been informed that the source who gave information about the girl has attempted suicide stating that he was under some sort of pressure. It is for the police to investigate the matter,” R K Bajaj, vice-president of Sahara Samay, said.

“There was no sting operation involved. A sting is when one tries to trap anybody or attempt to lure anyone. We had information from the source, which was later confirmed by the girl, that the constable would come to the place and rape her. We just had the cameras in position at the location,” Bajaj said.

Bhargav, a resident of Nerul, checked into a third floor room at the Asha Lodge opposite Thane station last night.

He was found lying on the floor in “an abnormal condition” when the door was forcibly opened around 11.30am after the hotel staff failed to get a reply from Bhargav’s room.

“We found a note on the table and an opened a 20ml bottle of an insecticide in the bathroom. Also, there was vomit…” said Sumeet Gupta, the lodge owner.

Sources said Bhargav, who is unemployed, hails from Delhi and came to Mumbai one-and-a-half years ago. He used to work for Jain TV.

“He was a trainee in our organisation for a few months. He was more like a stringer for the Navi Mumbai area. He was told to stop reporting for us one-and-a-half months ago for reasons that I would not want to reveal,” Amin Pawar, Jain TV’s Mumbai bureau chief said.

(With inputs from Smita Nair)

Twists and turns

• Oct 19: Sahara Samay plays tape recording of Nerul bar girl talking to constable Hamid Kazi: she accuses him of removing her clothes and raping her on October 11 in her chawl room. Kazi is arrested

• Oct 21: ‘Victim’ files an affidavit in the Belapur magistrate court retracting her statement

• Oct 25: Court extends police custody of Kazi. The police are investigating if he was involved in extortion

• Oct 26: TV reporter attempts suicide