A 48-year-old man employed as a ticket checking inspector on a contractual basis in the public transport authority of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has been booked by the Kashigaon police on alleged charges for sexually assaulting a 31-year-old woman on multiple occasions for the past more than a year under the false promise of marriage.
However, the accused identified as- Kishore Khedkar (48) is yet to be arrested as he reportedly attempted committing suicide and is recuperating in a hospital.
In her statement to the police the complaint said that she met Khedkar in April last year when she had gone to the bus depot in Mira Road to lodge a complaint against a bus driver for skipping a stop. Khedkar established friendly relations with her and told her to leave her job and start assisting him in his part time investment business.
Khedker later promised to marry her and sexually assaulted her at lodges in Kashimira, Goa and Nashik on various occasions between April 2023 to July 2024. Khedkar also lured her into investing Rs.13 lakh (which she raised by mortgaging her house) in the stock market and also took away her gold ornaments and two-wheeler worth around Rs. 2 lakh.
However, he neither married her nor returned the money, ornaments and two-wheeler. Fed up of the ordeal, the woman approached the Kashigaon police which registered an offence under sections 64(2) (m) (committing rape repeatedly on the same woman), 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), 318 (2) for cheating and 69 (sexual intercourse obtained by deceitful means) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the accused who is yet to be taken into custody. When contacted, a senior officer attached to the public transport authority said that Khedkar had not reported to work since 23, July.
Also Accused of Duping Several People.
Khedkar is also accused of duping several people including his relatives and colleagues in the public transport authority by floating bogus invest schemes. He would lure his potential targets into availing loans by using their know your customer (KYC) documents, bank statements and also credit cards to buy expensive mobile phones with an assurance of 10 percent returns on their invested amount tagged with a promise of paying the equated monthly instalments (EMI) on time.
However, Khedkar allegedly sold the phones in cash to other stores at cheaper rates, leaving the investors in lurch. Some of the cheated investors have filed written complaints with the Bhayandar police. While the process of recording statements was underway, an offence is yet to be registered. It is alleged that Khedkar also involved the woman (whom he raped) in his shady business.
