Ex-BJP MLA, dismissed cop booked for ‘gang-raping’ 22-year-old woman at knifepoint

Narendra Pawar (L) and Shailesh Patil (R)

THANE: An FIR has been registered against a former BJP Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and a dismissed police personnel for allegedly gang-raping a 22-year-old married woman at knifepoint on Thursday.The Padgha police registered a First Information Report (FIR) Thursday wee hours against Kalyan West assembly former MLA Narendra Pawar and dismissed policeman Shailesh Patil following directives from Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) Sadanand Date.According to the complaint, the victim resident of Kalyan had approached Pawar to help mediate an ongoing domestic dispute with her husband. On September 13, Pawar allegedly summoned her to his office in Kalyan under the pretext of helping resolve the conflict.She was then driven to a farm house in Bapgaon village in Bhiwandi taluka.The woman alleged that the Shailesh Patil threatened her with a weapon, forced her to consume alcohol and first Pawar sexually assaulted her. Pawar later left the premises, after which Patil allegedly assaulted her again.Around 4.00am, Patil’s domestic caretaker drove the woman back to her residence.Traumatised by the ordeal, the woman reached out to Kanchan Kulkarni, a Congress corporator in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), via contact details found on social media on September 16.

After reviewing video and text evidence shared by the complainant, Kulkarni accompanied her to the Padgha police station late Wednesday night.Padgha police station stated that an FIR was registered against both Pawar and Patil on charges including gang rape and criminal intimidation with weapons after verifying the complaint.Speaking to the media, Kulkarni demanded the immediate arrest of the accused within 48 hours, noting that Patil already faces past criminal cases. Police said further investigations into the case are currently underway.