Police in Chhattisgarh have arrested an actor, Manoj Rajput, over allegations that he raped on =e of his relatives for 13 years. The police said that he continued to rape his relative for over a decade on the promise to marry her.
According to news agency PTI, he was arrested from his office in the state’s Durg district on Friday. His victim is said to be one 29-year-old woman.
Station House Officer (SHO) Rajkumar Borjha said that the victim had filed a complaint with the police on 22 February at the Old Bhilai railway police station about Rajput sexually exploiting her since 2011 on the pretext of marriage. The woman said that she decided to approach the police after Rajput refused to honour his promise.
The police had first booked the actor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act arguing that the woman was a minor when the alleged sexual violation first occurred.
However, when Rajput was produced before a court, the judge quashed the POCSO charge saying that the Act did not even exist in 2011.