CM Raje’s former aide accused of rape

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan police should initiate action against chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s former officer on special duty who allegedly raped a 45-year-old woman on the pretext of helping her husband with a job, the victim’s family said on Sunday.

The victim detailed the entire sequence of events, saying former OSD Mahavir Prasad Jain had raped her after offering her a sedative-laced sweetmeat. He also threatened her with dire consequences if she reported the rape to the police.

The woman filed an FIR on October 10 at the Pratap Nagar police station. She alleged that the police deliberately delayed the investigation to shield Jain and also reopened an old case of fraud against her husband to harass them.

“The police interrogated us as if we were hardened criminals. We were kept in separate interrogation rooms for three hours and a character-assassination of my wife was done. Police used every tactic to convince us to remove the fact from the FIR that the accused was a former OSD to Raje,” said the victim’s husband.

People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) state secretary Kavita Srivastava said, “We demand a CID inquiry in this matter as an influential person associated with the chief minister is involved.”

Refuting the allegations, Jain, a former RAS officer, said he knew the victim’s husband, who is from the same community. “These allegations are totally baseless. I am 75 years old. How can I rape? The woman’s husband has been unemployed for several months and thus, he has filed a false rape charge to extort money. He has already demanded `50 lakh from me two days ago,” said Jain.

The police, however, refuted claims of tampering with evidence or of deliberate delay in the probe.