The crime which bore a chilling similarity to the 2012 `Nirbhaya" gang-rape case of Delhi took place in the wee hours of Friday. The suspect who had been arrested within a few hours of the incident has been now charged with murder.
PTI reported that while the city police formed a Special Investigation Team to probe the incident, opposition BJP demanded capital punishment for the accused and questioned if women were safe in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray termed the incident as a a "blot on humanity".
CM Thackeray said, "The trial in the case will be held on a fast track and the victim, who succumbed to injuries today, will get justice."
He has also discussed the case with state Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil and Mumbai Police Commissioner Hemant Nagrale.
According to police, accused Mohan Chouhan (45) worked as a driver and lived on the pavement in the Sakinaka area.
Police officials also informed that besides being raped, the victim woman was assaulted with an iron rod in her private parts and lost a lot of blood. She had also been stabbed with a knife, he added.
PTI also reported that the police also obtained CCTV footage of the spot. A man seen leaving the tempo was identified as Mohan Chouhan who hails from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh. He was arrested and produced before a court which sent him in police custody till September 21.
The probe so far has revealed the involvement of only one person in the crime, the commissioner said.
A police statement said, on Friday the police had booked the accused under IPC sections 307 (attempt to murder), 376 (rape), 323 (assault) and 34 (common intention). After the victim died, section 302 (murder) was added, while section 34 was dropped as the involvement of any other person in the crime has not come to light.
State BJP vice-president Chitra Wagh called for a new act on the lines of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act so that the culprits involved in cases of atrocities against women do not get bail easily. She also pointed out that the state women"s commission does not have a chairperson for over a year.
