Pune: Nine Booked for Sexually Assaulting Bhutanese Woman; Six Including Lawyer and Political Worker Arrested
Pune: Nine Booked for Sexually Assaulting Bhutanese Woman; Six Including Lawyer and Political Worker Arrested
A distressing case has emerged from Pune, where a woman from Bhutan, who had arrived in the city seeking employment, was allegedly sexually assaulted by nine individuals. Among those accused is Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) worker Shantanu Kukde, who was recently arrested in a separate rape case.
The Samarth police have taken six of the accused into custody, including a practicing lawyer. The arrested individuals have been identified as Shantanu Kukde, Hrishikesh Badade, Advocate Vipin Bidkar, Sagar Rasage, Avinash Suryavanshi, and Muddaseen Menon. Three others — Umesh Shahane, Prateek Shinde, and one unidentified person — are currently absconding.
According to the police, Kukde had earlier been booked for allegedly raping vulnerable women under the guise of offering them shelter. In the current case, the victim — a Bhutanese national who had been living in India for the past six years — had come to Pune in search of work. The accused reportedly provided her with food and accommodation but allegedly exploited her vulnerable situation and sexually assaulted her repeatedly.
The incidents reportedly occurred at a property associated with Kukde’s NGO, the Red House Foundation. The woman has since approached the Samarth police station and registered a complaint against Kukde and the others.
Following the complaint, senior officials including Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Singh Gill, Assistant Commissioner Anuja Deshmane, Senior Superintendent Umesh Gitte, Assistant Inspector Pratiksha Shendge, Sub-Inspector Saurabh Mane, and Jalindar Fadtare visited the scene of the alleged crime. A local court has remanded the six arrested accused to police custody until April 12.
