Mumbai: Deaf-mute woman files complaint 16 years after assault

India Dec 18, 2025

A deaf-mute woman in Mumbai has filed a police complaint 16 years after she was allegedly raped and filmed as a minor.
The accused, Mahesh Ramesh Pawar, was arrested this week after the survivor found the video of her assault circulating on WhatsApp and decided to come forward.

What happened and where things stand now

As a minor, the survivor was reportedly drugged, assaulted while unconscious at a common friend's residence, and recorded on video. She told her family back then but didn't get support to file a case.
After her recent FIR, police tracked down Pawar within hours, seizing his phone with multiple videos of minor girls.
He's now booked under POCSO and IT Act provisions as investigators work to identify other victims and piece together more details.