Charges framed against former bureaucrat in rape case

A local court has framed charges against suspended bureaucrat J P Joshi and Ritu Kandiyal in the rape and blackmail case of a 29-year-old woman.
The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge framed charges against both Joshi and Kandiyal in the case under different sections of the IPC yesterday.
According to the FIR lodged by the victim, Joshi, who was the additional secretary (Home) when the case surfaced in November last year, raped her on the pretext of providing her a government job.
Kandiyal had introduced the woman to Joshi. The alleged rape took place in a room in police line officers' club at Nainital.

In her statement to police on November 22, the woman alleged that she was introduced to Joshi by Kandiyal. She also alleged that Dehradun SP (Rural) Bhandari had mounted pressure on her not to go public over the matter.
As per the FIR, he even threatened to kill her later.
Joshi was suspended from his position in November last year after rape charges surfaced against him.
However, soon after the victim lodged the FIR, Joshi refuted the allegations and lodged a complaint against three persons, including the victim, at the city's Vasant Vihar police station, accusing them of blackmailing him and issuing threats to defame him.