DJ Arrested, Accused of Sexually Assaulting Woman Multiple Times Over 3 Years

Police in Mumbai arrested a 35-year-old DJ earlier this month for the alleged repeated sexual assault of a 31-year-old woman since 2019. The suspect, who was not publicly named due to local privacy laws in cases of sexual assault, was taken into police custody on Friday, Dec. 1 after the victim, also a DJ, filed a complaint against him the week prior, Bandra police said. He now faces multiple charges, including rape and criminal intimidation.

According to the complaint, the woman, who currently lives in Mumbai, met the suspect, her manager, through social media in 2017, per the Hindustan Times. He allegedly first sexually assaulted her at his home in Bandra in July 2019, "after which he raped her on multiple occasions," police said. The complainant said the DJ would force himself on her by threatening to kick her out of an assignment if she refused. She also accused the DJ of blackmailing her "through some of her intimate pictures," according to NDTV.

"I was working on some assignments with a company owned by the accused," she told police. "In one such event in Bengaluru, a month after the first assault, he barged into my room and demanded sexual favours, threatening to take me off the assignment if I didn't comply."

The victim also said the accused used to send inappropriate pictures to her. She said despite getting married to another woman in 2020, he continued to text her sexually explicit things and made sexual demands from her. While she was on holiday in Belgium in 2022, according to the complainant, the accused somehow figured out her room details and forced his way into it and assaulted her. The victim told police, "When he got to know about me getting into a relationship earlier this year, he got mad at me and threatened to kill me. Later, he harassed me and propositioned to me while I was in an autorickshaw."

The victim registered a complaint against the man in late November, with Bandra police arresting the 35-year-old on Dec. 1. A case was filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural sex), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), and 506 (criminal intimidation). Police are continuing to investigate.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.