Man held for rape of Pune techie freed after twist in probe, say cops

The 25-year-old man detained in connection with the alleged rape of a 22-year-old woman in Pune was released from police custody on Friday, after it emerged that he was a friend of the woman and did not gain entry by posing as courier delivery executive after spraying a chemical on her as previously suspected, officials said.

- Shrinivas Deshpande

During interrogation, the suspect revealed that he had known the woman for a year and a selfie—which was being treated a key piece of evidence in the rape investigation—was taken with the consent of the woman, an IT professional, and was allegedly edited by the woman herself who left a threatening message on it, the police said.