Shocking twist in Pune rape case: Woman says accused her friend, filed complaint out of anger

A shocking turn of events has emerged in the alleged rape case of a 22-year-old IT professional in Pune, as city police revealed on Friday that the suspect detained in the case was not a stranger, but the complainant’s friend. The woman has now admitted to filing the complaint “out of anger,” raising serious questions about the veracity of the original claims.

Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said that contrary to the woman’s initial statement, in which she alleged that a man posing as a courier delivery agent entered her flat in Kondhwa and raped her, the accused was actually someone known to her and was invited to her residence.

“There was no forced entry, and no spray was used. He was known to the victim,” Kumar told reporters.

CCTV and technical evidence disprove initial claims

The alleged incident, which the woman claimed occurred on Wednesday evening, led to an intense investigation. Kumar said the suspect was identified using CCTV footage from the society premises, which contradicted the woman’s account of a stranger assaulting her.

“During our investigation, we obtained a clear image of the accused from CCTV cameras installed on the society premises. However, when the picture was shown to the woman, she refused to identify him,” Kumar stated.

Despite the denial, the police continued their probe. By tracking the suspect’s motorcycle movements and verifying his mobile phone location, the police confirmed that he had indeed visited the woman’s apartment.

“By tracking the movement of his motorcycle across different localities and checking volumes of footage from five to six CCTV cameras, we were able to trace him near a firm in Baner,” Kumar said.

Selfie and threat message created by complainant

One of the pivotal claims in the woman’s complaint was that the alleged rapist took a selfie using her phone and left a threatening message, saying he would leak the pictures online.

However, Commissioner Kumar clarified, “The selfie was taken with the consent of both the woman and the accused. It was also revealed that the text message on the photo was drafted on the victim’s phone after the man had left. Prima facie, it appears that the victim herself added the text to the image.”

He added that while the nature of the sexual encounter — whether consensual or forced — remains under investigation, the narrative of a stranger assaulting her under false pretenses has been debunked.

False complaint filed in ‘mental distress’

When asked why she had filed the complaint, the woman allegedly confessed to police that she was emotionally distressed. “When we asked the woman what led her to file such a complaint, she stated that her mental condition was unstable, and that prompted her to make the false claim,” Kumar said.

The commissioner acknowledged the significant resources invested in the investigation. “A significant amount of manpower was deployed to trace the suspect, and large volumes of CCTV footage were scrutinised. It is now clear that there was an attempt to mislead the investigation.”

Kumar concluded that while no final decision has been made about legal action against the woman, multiple aspects of the case are still under examination.