By Diana George
A rape complaint filed by a 22-year-old IT professional in Pune has taken an unexpected turn, with police now saying the woman falsely accused a courier delivery agent and instead had a personal dispute with a friend, whom she claims forced himself on her. “She said she wasn’t ready for what happened (sexual intercourse) that day, but her friend forced her into it anyway. So out of anger, she filed a complaint with the police that she was raped,” Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said on Friday. According to police, the woman and the man in question had known each other for some time after meeting at a community event. They remained in touch and had met several times at her home, including on the day of the alleged incident. The woman initially alleged that a man posing as a courier delivery agent entered her flat in Kondhwa while she was alone and raped her. She claimed that before leaving, the accused clicked a selfie using her phone — one in which her back and part of his face were visible — and left a threatening message saying he would release her photos online if she reported the incident. However, during investigation, police detained the man — a well-qualified professional — and found inconsistencies in her account. The selfie, they discovered, had been taken by the woman herself, originally showing his full face. She had allegedly edited the image and typed the threat message herself, police said. The woman has now admitted to police that the person she named was not a stranger but a friend. Police say her complaint stemmed from anger over being forced into sex. The investigation also revealed that their families were familiar with each other, and the man used to regularly visit her home, often getting parcels delivered there when her family was away.