Mumbai: A day after a well-known infertility specialist was arrested for raping a woman, a police team has gone through his messages only to find some lewd chats with a clutch of patients. The investigating team is checking CCTV footage from within the hospital premises and recording statements of employees and nurses working there.

The 44-year-old doctor was arrested by the Thane crime branch for allegedly raping a 21-year-old woman who visited his clinic for treatment. He will be in police custody till August 22.

An investigating officer said, “We have checked the accused’s mobile details and have given his mobile phone to the cyber department to retrieve some mails. We have found lewd comments he sent to some women. We have called those women for questioning and will soon get details from them. He deliberately called the victim to his clinic when no one was there. After a day of interrogation, he said he did not want to speak about anything. We need more time to question him.”

The police said that the victim, who married two years ago, is a housewife and approached the accused, Dr Pratik Tambe, at Nirmiti Fertility & IVF, Naupada, for a fertility test on Thursday. However, he allegedly raped her instead. Crime branch DCP Abhishek Trimukhe said, “Under the pretext of a check-up, he stripped the victim and put some liquid in her private part. He then took off his clothes and raped her. When she tried to scream, he put his hand over her mouth and threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed the incident to anyone.”

After the doctor’s arrest, the clinic has been sealed.