Agri officer convicted of rape held for murdering victim

An agriculture extension officer, who is convicted of rape, was arrested from here for allegedly murdering the victim last year, police said today.
The accused Ratan Thakre, posted as agriculture extension officer at Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh, was apprehended yesterday after evading arrest for nearly two months, they said.
Thakre was last year convicted by a local court in Madhya Pradesh and sentenced to three years imprisonment for raping a woman at Kaamta village some ten years ago.
He challenged his conviction in the high court and the case was pending, police said.
According to police, Thakre was pressurising the victim for compromise and allegedly killed her using a sharp-edged weapon on November 16, 2013, after she refused his proposal to settle the case.