Woman who accused NCP youth president Mehboob Shaikh of raping her goes missing: Reports

A young woman who had lodged a rape complaint against NCP youth president Mehboob Shaikh in Aurangabad last week has gone missing. As per sources quoted by TV9 Marathi, the woman is untraceable and cannot be reached. The police administration has launched a search operation to track the woman.

Curiously, the woman had gone missing just days after she had filed a complaint against the NCP office bearer, accusing him of raping her. The complaint was filed at CIDCO police station in Aurangabad by the victim against Mehboob Ibrahim Sheikh. The woman who was a student in Aurangabad was allegedly raped on the pretext of providing her with a job.

In her complaint, the young woman alleged that Shaikh had called her to a flat on November 10 to meet her and four days later, on November 14, she was again asked to meet him at a secluded place at around 9 PM where she was allegedly raped. Shaikh was booked for rape based on the complaint of a woman in Aurangabad, last week.

NCP leader Mehboob Shaikh refutes allegations of rape

However, Shaikh has rubbished the allegations, claiming they were unfounded and baseless. “It is a political conspiracy to malign me and my political party. After the case was registered, the police had interrogated me for over seven hours. They have also launched a forensic investigation of my mobile phone to ascertain my location on the days mentioned by the woman. They have also questioned all those who I have met on the day she claimed the rape was committed,” Shaikh said.

Defending himself, Shaikh said that while the woman alleged that she met him at his flat on November 10, but on that day he was in Mumbai to attend a programme at a party office. He also added that the details of the programme have been uploaded on the party’s official Facebook page. He further added that on November 14 he was in his village Shirur Kasar in Beed to attend a Laxmi Puja event.

The NCP leader said he was ready to undergo a narcoanalysis test and face the consequences if found guilty. However, he added that if he is not found guilty, a narco test of the woman should also be conducted to determine who all are behind the conspiracy.

BJP demands arrest of NCP leader; alleges police is shielding him

Notwithstanding Shaikh’s offered alibi, the BJP has launched a blistering attack against the NCP leader and demanded his arrest. The saffron party has alleged that the police are insensitive to the sufferings of the citizens and are not taking action against the political leader who was booked on rape charges in Aurangabad.

“The state president of the NCP youth wing is being protected by those in the ruling party, hence the police are afraid of arresting the rape accused. Mehboob Shaikh should be immediately arrested and DCP (deputy commissioner of police) Deepak Girhe should be dismissed from the service for dereliction of duty,” said Chitra Wagh, state BJP vice-president, on Monday.