Marriage 'promise': BMC ward officer held for rape

MUMBAI: An assistant municipal commissioner was Monday arrested on charges of rape for maintaining physical relations with an architect by falsely promising marriage. Nitin Chandrapratap Shukla (37), BMC ward officer of K-East (covering Andheri East & Vile Parle East), was taken into custody after he attended a meeting on the upcoming census.Shukla had met the complainant when he was sub-engineer in the building proposal department. According to the FIR registered Sunday, he developed a relationship with her after she approached him in 2023 for approvals related to a project. Shukla allegedly assured her he would divorce his wife.The complainant also accused him of physical assault, creating fake accounts, circulating private content and threatening to defame her. He will be produced before the Vikhroli court Tuesday. Civic officials indicated departmental action is likely, and he may face suspension if he remains in custody for 48 hours.(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)