Palghar:

A 29-year-old man accused of raping a woman and abetting her suicide nine years ago has been arrested by police in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, an official said on Sunday.

The accused, Sultan alias Raja Noormohammad Shaikh, had allegedly raped the 19-year-old woman on various occasions in February 2013 after giving her drinks laced with sedatives, Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar police’s senior inspector Pramod Badakh said.

The victim became pregnant, but the accused asked her not to inform anyone about it or else he would make her objectionable video clip public, he said.

The accused also allegedly beat up the victim and abused her, the official said.

On April 22, 2013, the woman allegedly committed suicide by setting herself on fire, he said.

The Nallasopara police in Palghar had then registered a case against the accused on charges of rape, threat and abetment to suicide.

A police crime unit team worked on various leads, including intelligence inputs, and traced him to a locality in Nallasopara area from where he was arrested on Saturday, the official said.

During interrogation, the accused told the police that he had travelled to Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to evade arrest, he said.