Mumbai court grants bail to BMC ward officer arrested on charges of rape

Mumbai: A sessions court on Tuesday granted bail to BMC’s assistant municipal commissioner Nitin Chandrapratap Shukla, who was arrested on the complaint of alleged sexual assault on the false promise of marriage.

On April 27, Parksite police arrested Shukla on the complaint of an architect who met him professionally while he was working as a sub-engineer in the building proposal department. The two later became friends and remained in contact. The complainant alleged that Shukla told her about marital discord with his wife and promised to marry her after obtaining a divorce. She further claimed that he established physical relations with her between September 2023 and January 2026 and later refused to marry her.

During the hearing, Shukla’s counsel Sudeep Pasbola argued that both the accused and the complainant were mature adults and that the complainant was fully aware that he was already married. The defence also claimed that the complainant had started extorting money from him in 2026.

Advocate Bhomesh Bellam, for the complainant, said by promising marriage Shukla established physical relations with her using deceitful means.

Additional sessions judge S K Karhale observed that both parties were educated adults and had maintained a prolonged relationship. Noting that the accused had been in custody for over a month, the investigation was complete, and there was no possibility of the trial commencing in the near future, the court granted him bail on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with one surety of the like amount and directed him not to tamper with prosecution witnesses.