Man held for 'raping' babysitter

MUMBAI: A 42-year-old Lokhandwala resident allegedly raped his 31-year-old maid after offering her a cold drink laced with sedatives earlier this month, on July 8. Oshiwara police arrested the man, Girish Mohan Rao (42), on Friday and have launched an inquiry into the alleged crime.
Rao worked from home and his wife is employed in a hotel. The couple had hired the maid to look after their one-and-half-year-old toddler in June.Rao allegedly raped the victim when she was unconscious. Rao allegedly threatened to put up her nude photographs, which he had reportedly clicked when she was unconscious, on the internet or get her arrested in a false case of theft if she filed a complaint against him. "I didn't approach anyone for help out of fear," she told the police.
The alleged victim, a mother of two, initially did not even tell her husband about the incident. Only recently did she "muster up the courage" to report the incident to the househelp agency, which had suggested her name to Rao. The agency, along with a social worker, Raj Singh, informed the woman's husband about the alleged crime on Thursday and they approached the police on Friday.
Shambhulal Sah, the agency director, alleged, "Rao would interview prospective maids and out of around 25 applicants, he promised two good-looking women that he would call them for the job. Once we commented whether he was looking for a maid or a bride."
Rao denied all the allegations and told the police that he was being framed for refusing to pay the maid a salary of Rs 10,000; he had agreed to Rs 8,000. Dilip Rupwate, senior police inspector, Oshiwara police station, said, "We are looking into the facts of the case."