On January 13, in Mumbai, a woman was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted by a friend she made on Instagram. The case is being looked into by the police in Worli, south Mumbai.
The 21-year-old described her “most traumatic experience” of meeting the accused, Heetik Shah, on that fateful night in a distressing Instagram post. She said that the two had only communicated via Instagram up until that point.

“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,” she said.

She added that she thought she was “roofied,” but she was forced to drink more by the accused, which resulted in a blackout episode. The term “being roofied” refers to the act of someone being drugged and then raped or sexually assaulted.

The place turned out to be his friend’s, and his friends tried to protect him. “He tried to get me out before I could call for help, even threatening me in their presence. After leaving, he attempted to flee the scene”.

“I called my cousin to pick me up. Bruised and hurt, I couldn’t bring myself to tell my parents about that night,” she wrote.

The accused, however, apologised to her for his behaviour the next morning, the woman said, adding, “His morning apology means nothing to me, and he has absconded because he knows what he has done. 12 days have passed and he hasn’t been arrested. He has applied for anticipatory bail.”

“I seek justice and urge other girls to be more wary of who they talk to and go out with,” she added.

The screenshot of the alleged apology of the accused boy read: “Hi I am genuinely sorry for whatever happened tonight didn’t mean to do what happened, the situation got heated up and escalated and I’m really very sorry, I hope we can get over this and leave this behind us, I’m again very apologetic and sorry (sic)”

According to the post, Heetik Shah has been charged under the relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code for rape and voluntarily causing hurt.