India, July 5 -- The 25-year-old man detained in connection with the alleged rape of a 22-year-old woman in Kondhwa area in Maharashtra's Pune was released from police custody on Friday, after it emerged that he was a friend of the woman and did not gain entry by posing as a courier delivery executive after spraying a chemical on her as previously suspected, officials said.

During interrogation, the suspect revealed that he had known the woman for a year and a selfie - which was being treated as a key piece of evidence in the rape investigation - was taken with the consent of the woman, an IT professional, and was allegedly edited by the woman herself who left a threatening message on it, the police said.

"The suspect is not a delivery ...