Actor arrested for allegedly raping relative for 13 years 

An Indian actor-director-producer Manoj Rajput has been arrested for allegedly raping a close relative for the past 13 years after promising to marry her.

He was arrested from his office in Durg district of Chhattisgarh state on Friday on the complaint of the 29-year-old victim, a police official said on Saturday.

“On February 22, she lodged a complaint at the Old Bhilai railway police station about Rajput sexually exploiting her since 2011 on the pretext of marriage. After he reneged on his promise, she approached police,” Station House Officer (SHO) Rajkumar Borjha said.

Rajput was charged under Indian Penal Code sections for rape, unnatural sex, criminal intimidation and other offences as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act since the victim was a minor when the alleged exploitation began, Borjha said.

A local court where Rajput was produced, however, quashed the provisions of POCSO Act citing the law did not exist in 2011 (when the exploitation allegedly started), he added.