In a bizarre development, a medico from Malvani in Malad west has been booked in an alleged third rape case in three weeks, a police official said here on Tuesday.
The accused in the 'serial rapes' is Dr Yogesh Bhanushali, who was arrested after two cases were lodged against him for the offence on September 27 and October 3, and the third case lodged on October 15.
Malvani Police Station Senior Inspector of Police Chimaji Adhav said that the accused is currently in judicial custody in the earlier two cases which will end on Wednesday (October 18), and he will be arrested in the third case now, said the official.
The medico followed a modus operandi of luring women into relationship with marriage promises through social media, and then inviting them to his home to meet the other family members who lived a lavish lifestyle.
Later, he would allegedly take the woman to his private room upstairs and then convince her to change hairstyle and clothes to go to a pub, force himself on her, and even cajole her into getting tattoos on private parts.
He would continue the relationship for sometime, extract money and jewellery from her under threats of making her intimate pictures viral, dump and go after the next victim.
When one of the victims lodged a police complaint, her family came to his rescue and threatened her to withdraw the cases, and he has reportedly extorted over Rs 5-lakhs from one victim so far.
Among his victims are a nurse, a call centre employee who were lured, sexually assaulted and cheated of money on various occasions.
The accused was also booked by the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Nagar Police Station, Govandi (north-east Mumbai), under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in 2020, when he had misbehaved in a Covid-19 centre with a patient.
With four cases already registered, the Mumbai Police believe that there could be many more victims who would gradually come out openly against him.
Meanwhile, the victims' lawyers are clamouring for a probe into his medical degrees and other details of his family and their possible complicity into his alleged criminal activities.
(With inputs from IANS)
