60-year-old man held for raping and brutalising woman

A 60-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping and brutalising a 25-year-old woman under the pretext of giving her job as a maid, Mumbai Police said on Tuesday.

Prima facie, the accused Saleem Zaveri raped the woman repeatedly at his flat in suburban Bandra, where he stays alone, over a period of the last 15 days, a police officer said, adding that the accused used to insert a candle into the private parts of the woman.

The incident came to light when the woman started bleeding from her private parts, following which the accused took her to Bhabha Hospital, the officer said.

Zaveri was arrested on Monday night from his flat.

Zaveri had lured the woman, who was standing at a bus stop while looking for shelter, into accompanying him by promising her job as a maid.

The woman, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, had come to Mumbai after fighting with her husband, the officer said, adding that the victim doesn't know anybody in the city and had a problem in understanding language.

"Police came to know about the incident from the hospital," Bandra police station senior inspector Vijaylaxmi Hiremath told PTI.

The officer said Zaveri's wife had left him 20 years ago and she is currently living in the USA.

A case has been registered against Zaveri under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and he has been remanded to police custody.