NEW DELHI: The man who allegedly raped a 22-year-old data scientist in her flat in the Kondhwa area of Pune after posing as a courier delivery agent has been arrested, police confirmed on Thursday, as reported by PTI. The arrest came after a two days-long manhunt involving multiple police teams and forensic experts.The accused had entered the woman’s 11th-floor flat around 7.15pm on Wednesday, claiming he had a parcel from a bank that required her signature. When she went inside to get a pen, he followed her in, bolted the door, and allegedly sprayed a chemical on her face before assaulting her.

Also read: How ‘delivery agent’ drugged, raped Pune techie in her flat“He also used the woman’s cellphone to click a selfie with her, cropped his image and keyed in a message threatening her that he would upload the photograph on social media if she disclosed the incident to anyone,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajkumar Shinde told TOI. “We have seen the cropped selfie image and the message on the survivor’s phone after collecting the gadget from her,” he said.

The woman, who works with an IT firm in Kalyaninagar, had been living with her younger brother in the rented flat since 2022. Her brother had gone to Akola, leaving her alone in the apartment on the day of the attack.

‘Blackmail selfie, chemical spray, fake parcel’: How Pune horror unfolded

After regaining consciousness around 8.30pm, the woman contacted her relatives, who immediately alerted the police. Forensic experts collected her oral and nasal swabs to determine what chemical substance may have been used. She was admitted to a government hospital for medical examination.A case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 64 (rape), 77 (voyeurism), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) has been filed. Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said, “We are certain about detecting the case soon and have roped in all our resources considering the nature and gravity of the crime.”Investigators discovered that the intruder had not signed the visitors’ register nor appeared in the CCTV footage at the society entrance. The society uses a mobile visitor management app, but no delivery entries were logged around the time of the incident.