M'rashtra minister's brother held for rape

 In a major embarrassment to the Nationalist Congress Party, the brother of one of its key members, who is a minister in the state cabinet, was taken into custody for sexually assaulting a woman in Satara on Monday.

Reports filtering in from the hinterland stated that the accused, Rishikant Shinde, a real estate agent and brother of Water Resources Minister Shashikant Shinde, allegedly raped a client who had consulted him on a property issue.

Shashikant, inducted into the cabinet last June, is an MLA from Koregaon and is the guardian minister for the Satara district, from where Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan hails.
Talking to local media, Satara City police station in-charge Ravindra Pisal said Rishikant was produced before magistrate court and was sent to police custody till February 21.

According to the complainant by a 33-year-old woman, on the pretext of discussing a property issue on Sunday, Rishikant gained entry into her house in Satara and sexually assaulted her.