Mumbai man pursuing PhD in US booked for sexual abuse

Police have lodged a case against a 29-year-old Mumbai-based man pursuing a PhD in the United States for allegedly sexually abusing, threatening, and assaulting a 31-year-old woman studying in the same country, on the false pretext of marriage, officials said on Wednesday.

The accused, a resident of Lower Parel in central Mumbai, and the victim, who resides in Mahim, both hail from the city. The accused’s father holds a senior position in a private bank, they added.

According to police, the alleged offences occurred between 1 January and 12 June at a luxury hotel in Bandra and in the US. “The incident came to light when the victim recently approached the Bandra police station with a complaint against the accused person,” an official said.

The FIR stated that the accused is a doctoral student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He first met the victim through a matrimonial contact and after several meetings, asked her to book a room at a Bandra hotel to discuss “important things in life”. Once there, he allegedly sexually assaulted her, the official said.

The victim told police that the accused continued to abuse her while both were in the US. She later discovered him chatting online with other women about marriage, and when she confronted him, he allegedly beat her, hurled abuses, and threatened to leak her nude photos and set her on fire, the officer said.

Following the alleged incident, the woman confided in her mother and, gaining her support, approached Mumbai Police to file a complaint.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) — Section 69 (sexual intercourse by deceitful means), Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), Section 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and Section 351(2) (criminal intimidation).

The accused has been booked, and further investigation is underway, officials confirmed.