A 35-year-old man has been booked on charges of allegedly raping and abetting suicide of a 29-year-old married woman in Jawhar taluka in Palghar district, police said today.
The woman (29) had allegedly hanged herself in her house in the taluka, police said.
Police have booked the accused, identified as Ajmal Pawar, under sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 376 (punishment for rape) on the complaint filed by the father of the deceased, a police official said.
Pawar is posted as a cook at an Ashramshala (residential school for tribal students) in the taluka, the official said, adding that the accused is absconding.
Pawar had allegedly developed friendship with the victim, a widow with two children, as he used to visit the house of her father every Sunday for a 'satsang' ( religious discourse).
He had promised her a job in the Nashik civil hospital and allegedly took Rs 25,000 from her family members, the official said.
In January this year, Pawar allegedly raped the woman at her house after finding her alone and threatened her with dire consequences if she disclosed the incident, he said.
Pawar also offered to marry the woman but she refused, following which he threatened to defame her, the official said.
The victim's father claimed in the complaint that his daughter killed herself due to harassment by Pawar, he added.
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