26-year-old man assaults woman for rejecting advances

he accused identified as Deepak Malakar had assaulted his friend on Friday after she refused physical intimacy. As she lost consciousness, the man ran away believing that he had killed her. The woman, however, regained consciousness and reached out to the Versova police

MUMBAI: A 26-year-old man was nabbed in Surat to where he had fled after allegedly hitting his 18-year-old female friend in Versova and presuming her to be dead.

26-year-old man assaults woman for rejecting advances

The accused identified as Deepak Malakar had assaulted his friend on Friday after she refused physical intimacy. As she lost consciousness, the man ran away believing that he had killed her. The woman, however, regained consciousness and reached out to the Versova police.

“The complainant and the accused got acquainted a year ago through social media. The man even met with her parents and asked to marry her. Though the woman refused to marry Malakar saying she wanted to complete her studies and make a career, her parents were happy with the match and even allowed Malakar to stay in their 1BKH home,” a police official said.

Throughout his stay in the house, the accused tried getting close to the woman, but she kept rejecting his advances, the police added.

Believing that her refusal was due to the cramped living space and the presence of her parents and brother, Malakar decided to make a move on her in a private space and took her to a friend’s place in Versova village on some pretext. “When the woman rejected his advances, he hit her head against a wall. He even hit her on the face repeatedly. Thereafter, he got scared and locked the room from the outside before fleeing the state,” the police said.

When the woman regained consciousness she screamed for help and the neighbours called the police. “We took her to a government hospital where she was in a critical condition due to multiple fractures on skull and face. She is on her way to recovery now,” the officer added.

Meanwhile, Malakar had switched off his mobile phone. He was untraceable until he decided to use his ATM card to withdraw some money. “The transaction helped us in locating Malakar. A team headed by PSI Gyaneshwar Jadhav was dispatched and he was brought to the city. During interrogation, he confessed to his crime and was arrested on Monday and produced in court,” the officer said.

Malakar has been booked under section 307 (attempt to murder), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code and is currently in police custody.