Film actor-director held for raping kin after promising marriage

The actor-director-producer was held from his office in the state's Durg district on Friday on the complaint of the 29-year-old victim, the police official said

Durg: Chhattisgarh actor-director-producer Manoj Rajput was held for allegedly raping a close relative for the past 13 years after promising to marry her, a police official said on Saturday.

He was held from his office in the state’s Durg district on Friday on the complaint of the 29-year-old victim, the official said.

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“On February 22, she lodged a complaint at the Old Bhilai railway police station about Rajput sexually exploiting her since 2011 on the pretext of marriage. After he reneged on his promise, she approached police,” Station House Officer (SHO) Rajkumar Borjha said.

Rajput was charged under Indian Penal Code sections for rape, unnatural sex, criminal intimidation and other offences as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act since the victim was a minor when the alleged exploitation began, Borjha said.

A local court where Rajput was produced, however, quashed the provisions of POCSO Act citing the law did not exist in 2011 (when the exploitation allegedly started), he added.