Long time personal assistant of former Chief Minister Raman Singh was arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl, police said here on Thursday.
Om Prakash Gupta was arrested in the early hours of Thursday based on a complaint lodged by the 16-year-old victim at women's police station here, Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Praful Thakur confirmed.
According to the complainant, in 2015, her parents had left her in Gupta's care after he promised to take care of her education, following which the abuse began in 2016 and lasted till December 2019.
Gupta sexually assaulted the minor on several occasions at his other residence in Naya Raipur, and threatened her of dire consequences if she complained to anyone, police said.The victim, who hails from Rajnandgaon district, was also forced to do household works and give body massage to Gupta and his wife, the police informed. A student of Class 11 at a Govt school here, the victim recently shifted to the school's hostel, where she came in contact with an NGO that helped her file a police complaint on Wednesday, police added.
The accused has been charged under section 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Gupta has been associated with former CM and BJP's national vice president Raman Singh for the last 15 years.
Meanwhile Raman Singh reacting over the incident said that he had sought details from the police in this connection. “It would be early to comment without checking the facts," he added. Police further informed that Gupta was presented in a local court that sent him to jail on judicial remand till January 16.
