A complaint by a deaf and mute woman over a sexual assault that allegedly took place 16 years ago has led to the arrest of a man accused of repeatedly abusing and blackmailing women from the hearing- and speech-impaired community, police said.

The accused was arrested on December 13 after the survivor recently broke her silence following the suicide attempt of another woman who was allegedly sexually harassed by him.

Disturbed by the suicide attempt, the survivor shared details of the 2009 assault during a video call with friends and colleagues who were part of a WhatsApp group, police said.

According to investigators, the survivor, a resident of Mumbai’s western suburbs, communicated in sign language that the accused had drugged and raped her when she was a minor.

She later informed her husband and, with the support of Thane Deaf Association president Vaibhav Ghaisis, activist Mohammed Farhan Khan, sign language interpreter Madhu Keni and a retired officer from the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities Divyangjan, approached the police.

Her statement was recorded in camera at the Kurar police station with Keni acting as interpreter. The accused, Mahesh Pawar, was arrested a few hours later from Virar in neighbouring Palghar district, police said.

Recalling the trauma she endured 16 years ago, the survivor said that a female friend had invited her to explore the city in July 2009 and took her to Pawar's home in Vakola, Santacruz, an official said.

The accused allegedly offered her samosas and some beverage to celebrate the female friend's birthday. The survivor said she was forced to have the drink, which Pawar had allegedly spiked, and after a while, her friend left her alone with him.

The accused allegedly overpowered and raped her, and later blackmailed her with the recorded video of the assault.

The trauma of assault stayed with her over the years, and the attempted suicide of another woman from the community, allegedly assaulted by Pawar, propelled her to come forward.

A probe has revealed that the accused had similarly drugged and assaulted speech and hearing impaired women and threatened them into silence by blackmailing them with obscene videos, a senior police officer said.

The accused allegedly shot obscene videos of several women, using which he blackmailed them and extorted money, gold and mobile phones, he said.

He allegedly forced women into participating in nude video calls with him and recorded these to threaten them, the official said.

"As per initial investigation so far, we have evidence of his abuse of seven women, but the number can increase to more than 24," the official told PTI.

While Pawar has been remanded in judicial custody, no other woman has come forward with a complaint against him as yet, he said.

Talking to PTI, Keni said all women who have survived abuse and harassment by Pawar want to lodge a complaint against him.

She claimed that the accused had extorted money from one of the women he abused, but did not return the sum even when she needed it for a medical emergency.