C'garh: Former CM's personal assistant held for minor's rape

A personal assistant of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh was arrested on Thursday for allegedly raping a minor girl, police here said.

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, a senior police official said.

According to the complainant, in 2015, her parents 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, the official said.

The victim, who hails from Rajnandgaon district, was also forced to do household workand give body massage to Gupta and his wife, the officer said.

A student of Class 11 at a government 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, he said.

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, he said.

Gupta has been associated with former Chief Minister and BJP's national vice president Raman Singh for the last 15 years.

When asked about this development, Singh said, "I have sought details from the police in this connection. It would be early to comment without checking the facts.