Pune (PTI): An unidentified man allegedly raped a 22-year-old woman after gaining access to her apartment in Pune by posing as a courier delivery executive, police said on Thursday.

The accused also clicked a selfie on the victim's phone and left a message on it, warning her not to inform about the crime to anyone as he had taken her pictures and would share them on social media, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 5) Rajkumar Shinde said.

The incident took place at around 7.30 pm on Wednesday at a housing society in Kondhwa area of Maharashtra's Pune city and search was on for the culprit, as per the police.

The victim, who works in a private firm, was alone in her apartment as her brother had gone out of town, the official said.

The man came to her house posing as a courier delivery agent and gained entry. He asked for a pen to sign (a document) and as she turned her back to him, he came inside the house and latched the door, the official said.

"The woman does not remember anything (further) as she gained consciousness around 8:30 pm. The woman then informed her relatives and subsequently police were alerted," Shinde said.

The man left a message on her phone that he had taken photos of her, and if she revealed about the incident to anyone, he would make the pictures viral, the official said.

There is a possibility that the accused used some substance to make her unconscious. The police were verifying if any spray was used, he said.

The face of the accused has been captured in one of the CCTV cameras in the area and efforts were on to trace him, the official said.

A case has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 64 (punishment for rape), 77 (voyeurism) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation), the police added.

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New Delhi: A significant political controversy has erupted following the Modi government's decision to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a move that has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties. The row was further fueled by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, who, while defending the name change, erroneously claimed that Mahatma Gandhi had made the devotional song "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram" India’s national anthem.

The central government has rebranded the flagship rural employment scheme from MGNREGA to the "Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission," abbreviated as VB-G RAM G. The removal of Mahatma Gandhi's name from the scheme has been termed an insult to the Father of the Nation by the Congress and other opposition parties.

When questioned by the media outside Parliament regarding the opposition's allegations, Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut defended the government's decision by invoking Mahatma Gandhi's devotion to Lord Ram.

"How is naming it 'Ram Ji' an insult to Gandhi ji?" Ranaut asked. "Mahatma Gandhi made 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' the national anthem to organize the entire country. Therefore, this is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi? The government is fulfilling his dream by giving it the name of Ram."


Ranaut's claim regarding the national anthem was immediately seized upon by the opposition. Congress leader Supriya Shrinate shared the video of Ranaut’s statement on social media, tweeting sarcastically, "Come on brother, today we learned a new national anthem! The BJP is full of such gems."

Social media users also trolled the MP for the factual error. One user quipped, "Kangana ji forgot to mention that Bapu made this the national anthem after the country got independence in 2014," while another commented that the party finds people who "don't use their brains while forwarding WhatsApp messages."

Beyond the social media mockery, senior Congress leaders criticised the renaming on ideological grounds. Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn the move.

"The biggest irony is that Mahatma Gandhi was a lifelong devotee of Lord Ram and said 'Hey Ram' in his last moments," Gehlot wrote. "Today, the central government is making a despicable attempt to sideline Gandhi ji under the guise of the same 'Ram' name (VB-G RAM G), which is highly condemnable."