Mumbai assault complaint from 2009 exposes alleged serial abuse of deaf women

A complaint filed by a deaf and mute woman over a sexual assault that allegedly took place in Mumbai in 2009 has led to the arrest of a man accused of repeatedly abusing and blackmailing several women from the speech and hearing impaired community, police said.

The accused, Mahesh Pawar, was arrested on 13 December after the survivor recently broke her silence, prompted by the suicide attempt of another woman who was allegedly sexually harassed by him.

Disturbed by the incident, the survivor shared her experience during a video call with friends and colleagues who are part of a WhatsApp group, police officials said.

According to the police, the survivor, a resident of Mumbai’s western suburbs, communicated in sign language that she had been drugged and raped by Pawar when she was a minor.

She later informed her husband and, with support from the Thane Deaf Association president Vaibhav Ghaisis, activist Mohammed Farhan Khan, sign language interpreter Madhu Keni, and a retired officer from the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities Divyangjan, approached the police.

Her statement was recorded in camera at the Kurar police station, with Keni acting as interpreter. Pawar was arrested a few hours later from Virar in Palghar district, officials said.

Modus operandi

Recounting the incident, the survivor told police that in July 2009, a female friend invited her to explore the city and took her to Pawar’s residence in Vakola, Santacruz. The accused allegedly offered her food and a beverage to celebrate the friend’s birthday and forced her to consume the drink, which was allegedly spiked. The friend later left, after which Pawar allegedly sexually assaulted her.

Police said the accused recorded the assault and later blackmailed the survivor using the video, threatening to make it public. The trauma, officials said, stayed with her for years.

Investigations so far suggest that Pawar followed a similar pattern with other women from the speech and hearing impaired community.

A senior police officer said he allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted women, recorded obscene videos and used them to blackmail victims into silence. He is also accused of extorting money, gold and mobile phones, and forcing some women to participate in nude video calls that were secretly recorded.

“As per the initial investigation, we have evidence of abuse of at least seven women, but the number of victims could rise to more than 24,” the officer said.

Pawar has been remanded to judicial custody. While no additional formal complaints have been filed yet, interpreter Madhu Keni said several survivors intend to approach the police.

She alleged that in one case, Pawar did not return money extorted from a woman even when she needed it for a medical emergency.

With inputs from PTI