Man arrested for rape of woman with speech impairment

An 18-year-old man has been arrested from Gujarat for allegedly raping a woman who suffers from speech and hearing impairment in Maharashtras Thane district, police said on Tuesday. The accused was identified as Ashiwin Rathwa.The woman, who is 23 years old, was on her way to work at about 5 am on July 2 when a man overpowered her near dilapidated railway quarters in Kalyan town and raped her.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested from Gujarat for allegedly raping a woman who suffers from speech and hearing impairment in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Tuesday. The accused was identified as Ashiwin Rathwa.

The woman, who is 23 years old, was on her way to work at about 5 am on July 2 when a man overpowered her near dilapidated railway quarters in Kalyan town and raped her. He also snatched her mobile phone before fleeing, said the police release.

A case under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 392 (robbery) was registered at MFC police station after the woman lodged complaint through an interpreter, it said.

Police formed five teams to probe the case. CCTV footage showed that the assailant had seen the woman when she was walking down a sky-walk, which helped the police to zero in on his identity. Rathwa was arrested from Chhota Udaipur district of Gujarat on Monday afternoon. He was remanded in police custody for four days on Tuesday, the release added.