43-Year-Old Real Estate Broker Arrested for Alleged Rape and Exploitation in Mumbai

Mumbai: A 43-year-old real estate broker has been arrested on serious charges of rape and exploiting his business partner by making false promises of marriage. The Amboli police took action and arrested the broker on Saturday. He was subsequently produced before the Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate court, which remanded him to police custody.

The complainant first met the accused in January 2023 at a Juhu-based property office. The accused gained her trust by proposing a business partnership, and they subsequently started a brokerage firm together in August 2023 at a co-working space in Andheri West. During their business relationship, the accused allegedly misrepresented his marital status, claiming he was in the process of divorcing his wife and promising to marry the complainant.

However, when the complainant later questioned him about their future, the accused allegedly told her that he would not leave his wife and instead demanded that she remain his mistress. He continued to threaten and stalk her, leading the complainant to stop attending the office and block him. Despite this, the accused allegedly persisted in his threatening behavior.

The accused's lawyer, Prabhakar Tripathi, has alleged that the arrest is part of a dispute between the two partners. Tripathi stated, 'The FIR is a dispute between the two partners and it is a clear counter-blast to the arbitration proceedings. The High Court had granted an injunction restraining the complainant from using the company's intellectual property rights on social media. Despite her violation of the order, a contempt petition was filed.'

The Amboli police have stated that they have sufficient evidence to support the complainant's allegations and are continuing their investigation. The case has drawn attention to the issue of exploitation and abuse in professional settings, particularly in the real estate sector, where trust and close working relationships can sometimes lead to vulnerable situations.

The complainant has been supported by local women's rights organizations, which have called for stricter enforcement of laws to protect victims of sexual exploitation and harassment in the workplace. The police have assured the public that they will take all necessary steps to ensure justice for the complainant and to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.