‘Impregnated, sexually assaulted multiple times’: How Mumbai woman with speech disability spoke through therapies

MUMBAI: City police arrested a 50-year-old man for allegedly raping and impregnating his 20-year-old daughter, three months after a rape case was registered when she was found five months pregnant. The man, a sweeper who did odd jobs, lived in a slum with his three children who have mental health issues.

The victim is the eldest, with a younger brother and a 13-year-old sister. Their mother, who also had mental health problems, died a few years ago.


The case surfaced in Oct 2025 after Cama and Albless Hospital informed police that a mentally-unstable woman admitted with abdominal pain was pregnant.

Her grandmother had brought her to the hospital. Because she had a speech disability, she initially could not identify the assailant, and police registered a rape case.

Her pregnancy was terminated and the foetus was sent for forensic analysis. Investigators later found that multiple people had sexually assaulted her.

Police arrested a 32-year-old man and detained a 16-year-old from the Cuffe Parade slum after the woman identified them using photographs and visual aids. An NGO working on child rights assisted by communicating with the woman through therapies.

Police collected DNA samples from 16 people, including the father, relatives, neighbours, and others who had access to her.

During counselling, the woman said her father had also sexually assaulted her, but she had not named him earlier out of fear. In late Jan, Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory reported that the father’s DNA matched the foetus. Police then arrested him. He is currently in judicial custody.