Overview
- On August 18 a man dressed as a transgender person entered a Powai flat claiming he could remove an 'evil eye' or bless the couple with a child and then sexually assaulted the woman before taking a small sum of money.
- Investigators reviewed over 100 CCTV cameras, traced the suspect’s autorickshaw route to a slum in Kalwa/Kharegaon and arrested 28–30-year-old Anil Sheshrao Shinde within hours; he has been remanded to police custody.
- Powai police registered a rape case and said they will consider additional charges including provisions related to black‑magic or ritual fraud while they check whether the same modus operandi was used in other incidents.
- Mumbai Police issued a public advisory urging residents not to admit unknown people or beggars into homes without verification and to report suspicious activity to emergency helplines.
- The survivor remains traumatised and community activists have warned that crimes exploiting transgender identity risk deepening stigma, while the rapid CCTV tracing signals a heavier reliance on camera networks in future investigations.