A 21-year-old girl was allegedly assaulted and raped after being drugged by her Instagram friend in Mumbai. In an Instagram post shared from a handle named “Punishmyrapist”, the victim narrated her ordeal which reportedly took place on 13th January, seeking Justice. Reacting to the post, several other victims or their acquaintances came out alleging that the accused, Heetik Shah, has been a serial offender.
Notably, Mumbai Police also reacted to the post appreciating the victim for duly reporting the incident and ensured that justice would be done.
In her post, the victim said that she suspected she had been drugged with Roofy (Rohypnol), a sedative-hypnotic drug commonly referred to as the ‘date rape drug‘.
According to the Instagram post, the victim knew the accused Heetik Shah through Instagram and the duo had few mutual acquaintances. She described that the incident which was supposed to be a fun night “turned into the most traumatic experience of my life.”
The post read, “I’m a 21-year-old girl from Mumbai, and this is my story. I decided to hang out with a guy I had been talking to on Instagram, and we had a few mutual acquaintances. What I thought would be a fun night out turned into the most traumatic experience of my life.”
Narrating the incident, the victim added that they had gone out partying, where she met a couple of the accused’s friends. However, when the accused found her in a vulnerable state, he insisted that she drink more, leading her to suffer a blackout. According to the post, she might have been roofied. Following the blackout episode, she woke up to him raping her and the accused also assaulted and intimidated her when she tried to stop him.
The post added, “Heetik Shah and I went out for drinks and partying in town, starting at place A. After meeting a couple of his friends, we left for Bastian. After some tequila shots, I became intoxicated, feeling anxious and alone at the party. He insisted I drink more, and I had a blackout episode, not recalling what happened next. I suspect I may have been roofied. I woke up to him raping me, and despite my efforts to stop him, he continued and even slapped me three times with intense rage, leaving me scared and intimidated.”
The victim further stated that she was raped at the accused’s friend’s place who also intervened to protect him.
Following the incident, the victim’s cousin picked her up in a bruised and battered state. When her family found out about the incident, she filed an FIR against the accused later that week, the post added.
In the post, the victim stated that the accused had apologised for the incident the next morning but the apology meant nothing to her. It further added that the accused knew what he had done and has not been arrested days after the incident. The accused is said to have been absconding and applied for anticipatory bail, as per the post.
The Instagram post noted, “His morning apology means nothing to me, and he has absconded because he knows what he has done.”
The accused, Heetik Shah has been booked under IPC sections 376 (punishment for rape) and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), the post noted.
Seeking Justice, the post also urged other girls to be more wary of the people they talk to and go out with while requesting them to connect/ advice with people or resources that could help her.
Others accuse Heetik Shah of being a repeat offender
Reacting to the post, several girls and purported acquaintances of the accused Heetik Shah said that he has been a repeat offender along with his friends.
Through Instagram stories, the victim’s handle also shared some of the purported victims’ claim in which they have alleged that the accused is a repeat offender. As per the allegations, the accused had been rusticated from educational institutions and his friend circle has links with ‘influential’ people.
Additionally, sharing the victim’s post, an X handle @AtharvaSoni17, also included some screenshots in which people familiar with Heetik Shah had shared allegations against him. One wrote, “He has been committing such crimes since the age of 12. He was in our school and he assaulted a girl from the sixth grade.”
So on 14th Jan a rich brat named heetik shah raped a girl in Mumbai
— ᴚ&∀M (@AtharvaSoni17) January 26, 2024
Please repost and share this as much as you can cause these people who raped her (a group 3-4 friends) have fled and are roaming freely they need to get arrested asap and strict action must be taken pic.twitter.com/bEqQI4GzKX
Further, several others have alleged that his friend circle has been assaulting victims and hatching plans to procure roofies and bringing female friends to their common meeting place. Some of the users also alleged that the accused hails from a wealthy family and has thus evaded arrest.
However, several users, in the comment section of the post, had asked to hear both sides of the story and not jump the gun and cited past episodes where lives of several boys had been ruined because of baseless accusations or relationships gone sour.
