Man rapes woman by blackmailing her with video clip; held

A 34-year-old man was arrested Sunday for allegedly raping a 22-year-old woman in Chhattisgarh over a year by blackmailing her with a video clip, police said.

The accused Ravi Kannauje, a native of Puraina village in Chhuikhadan area, is a distant relative of the victim, a nursing student, said Ambagarh Chowki police station officer Narendra Pujari.

The officer said Kannauje, who is married, had visited the woman at her house last year, where he secretly filmed her while bathing.

He then started blackmailing the woman with the video recording and raped her several times in the last one year, Pujari said, adding that the accused also shot obscene videos of the victim.

Recently when the woman resisted his bid, the accused allegedly circulated her videos on social media following which she lodged an FIR on Friday, the SHO said.

Kannauje is booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 376 (Punishment for rape), he said.