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HomeIndiaTeen who accused ex-CM Raman Singh’s OSD of rape is missing, police...

Teen who accused ex-CM Raman Singh’s OSD of rape is missing, police suspect officer’s role

The teenager was to depose against O.P. Gupta, who served as OSD to former Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh, on 20 March. Gupta is in jail, facing trial in the case. 

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Raipur: The teenager who had alleged that she was raped by O.P. Gupta, who served as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh, has gone missing, along with her father, from their home in the state’s Rajnandgaon district.    

Local police have told ThePrint that the girl and her father have been missing for nine days and that they suspect Gupta may have played a role in their disappearance.  

Mohla police station in-charge Nilesh Pandey, under whose jurisdiction the girl’s village falls, said that prima facie it appears that filing a rape complaint against Gupta may be the reason for the disappearance of the father-daughter duo.  

Police also claimed to have arrested four people in connection with the case Thursday morning. “We have got a big breakthrough in the kidnapping of the girl. Four persons have been arrested but details about them cannot be revealed at this juncture,” Pandey said. “Police are continuously raiding some pre-identified places to locate the missing teenager and her father.” 

Gupta is in jail, facing trial in the case. The teenager was scheduled to depose in court on 20 March.

The teenager had in January this year lodged a formal complaint against Gupta accusing him of rape. He was arrested by the Raipur Women’s Police Station on 8 January. 

According to the complaint, the teenager — who hails from a village in Rajnandgaon district — was left by her father at O.P. Gupta’s Rajendra Nagar residence in Raipur in 2016 to help her  study better. 

Her complaint adds that not only was she entrusted with domestic work but also made to  massage the Gupta couple. The girl, then a Class 8 student, has further alleged that Gupta sexually abused her on several occasions between 2016 and December 2019. 

‘Police delayed filing FIR, more family members missing’

Sources, however, told ThePrint that police only swung into action after a local NGO, about which police refused to say anything on record, wrote to the Rajnandgaon SP B.S. Dhruv stating that there was tremendous pressure on the victim to change her statement and that her life might be in danger.  

The NGO had further claimed that other family members are also missing. 

Pandey, however, said that police conducted an initial probe before filing the FIR. “We have unearthed some important evidence during our investigation. A written complaint against Gupta was filed by the girl’s brother Mochiram on 9 March but a criminal case was registered only on 17 March after we conducted an initial investigation,” Pandey said.  

When ThePrint contacted Rajnandgaon SP B.S. Dhruv for more details, he refused to comment citing the victim being a minor and that hence sensitive information related to the case cannot be shared.


Also read: Art, life and Bollywood’s role in violence against women


 

 

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