A man was shot dead and his female friend raped by a man, allegedly part of a gang of robbers, in Titwala, 45 kilometres away from Thane, Indian media reported.
According to the report, the couple was on their way on the man’s motorcycle – a Royal Enfield – when the man stopped the bike to relieve himself at around 9pm. It was then that the woman was accosted by an armed man, who threatened her.
Hearing her screams, the man rushed to her rescue, but was shot multiple times. The woman was then dragged into the jungle where she was raped. He then snatched two mobile phones and left taking the motorcycle. The woman then rushed to the nearest village for help.
The woman was admitted to the Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar for a medical examination, after which she was discharged. The man, identified as Ganesh Dinkar, was declared brought dead.
Twenty four hours after the incident, police are yet to identify the accused, even as locals claimed the road between Ambernath to Chinchpada, where the incident took place, is a known hideout for “anti-social elements”.
The case was lodged with the Ambernath police station but has been transferred to the Titwala police. Several teams of Murbad region and even the Thane rural crime branch are working on the incident.
Dinkar worked at a Chinese stall in Ambernath and the girl is from Kalyan, police said. “Dinkar was riding his elder brother’s motorcycle. The stall where he works as a helper is also his brother’s. We were told by the girl that she was dating the man and they used to take several bike-rides together on his days off,” an officer from the Titwala police station said.
