TNN

Mumbai, Mar 6: A senior citizen was arrested by the Kandivli police on Wednesday for allegedly drugging and raping a 21-year-old woman. 

Ramesh Seth (64), who runs Bright Corporation, a plastic paint factory, had promised to arrange for funds for the treatment of the victim, who suffers from a serious ailment. On the pretext of taking the woman to meet the members of a trust that would help her, Seth took her to a house in Gorai, where he spiked her drink and then raped her.

"Seth lives at Mahavir Nagar in Kandivli (W) with his wife and two sons. One son is even married,'' said senior inspector S Jaiswal. "The victim, a resident of Virar, has studied till Std XII. She needed Rs 3 lakh for medical treatment. Two months ago, her mother got acquainted with Seth, who told her that he knew the members of a trust that helped the needy and ailing.''

On Tuesday, Seth summoned the girl and her mother to the Kandivli station. He met them outside the station in his car and told the mother that the trustees wanted to meet only the patient. Sending her away, Seth drove the girl around in his car for a while, before going to Gorai jetty. From he took the woman on a ferry, the police said.

"On reaching a village in Gorai, they got off the ferry and took an auto. Seth took the woman to a house he knew. On the way, he stopped at a shop and bought a half-litre cola bottle. He spiked it on the sly and offered it to the woman. The victim cannot remember clearly if the house she was taken to was a private bungalow or a lodge,'' a police officer said. "When being raped, she remembers trying to put up a fight, but in vain. Seth covered her mouth with his hands to smother her screams. Later, he took her back the same route and abandoned her at Borivli station.''

The victim, still in a groggy condition, staggered into a local train and travelled to and fro several times, the police said. When she regained full consciousness, she telephoned her mother who picked her up. On Wednesday, the mother-daughter duo lodged a complaint with the Kandivli police following which a team visited Seth's office and arrested him. He was produced before a local court at Borivli on Thursday and sent to police custody till March 9.