Hyderabad: Kacheguda police arrested Mayur Pan House owner Upendra Varma for allegedly raping and cheating a techie on Thursday. He was booked under IPC Sections 376 (rape) and 417 (cheating). The complaint was lodged last month.
The victim told the police that Upendra, 33, a graduate who reportedly got married last year, had befriended her on Facebook and started a relationship. She said he used to give her paan laced with sedatives and take advantage of her. He also video-graphed her in compromising positions, the victim claimed. She alleged that Upendra used the videos to silence her whenever she asked him to marry her. The victim alleged that Upendra’s family knew of their relationship.
Upendra befriended her on Facebook four-and-a-half years ago. “He first sent me a friend request and became friends online. I accepted it as we had a few mutual friends,” she said.
She said they eventually fell in love. “He said he will marry me and sexually assaulted me several times. He took me to resorts, where he gave me paan which made me feel drowsy. He recorded videos and took pictures of us in compromising positions, with which he threatened me,” she alleged.
She said Upendra had got married last year but kept her in the dark. “When I found out that he had married a Rajasthani woman, we had an argument. He called his father seeking a divorce from his wife, as he decided to live with me,” she alleged.
Instead, she said, Upendra started threatening her that he would release their videos, and asked her to stay away. She claimed his friend Rajesh, a furniture shop owner in Goshamahal, used to threaten her with a prostitution charge if she did not back off.
The Kacheguda police has issued a lookout note for Rajesh, who is absconding. The victim’s mother learnt about the issue a month back. “I saw my daughter slipping into depression. When she told me, we stayed mum thinking about the family reputation. But, unable to take the constant threats, we approached East Zone DCP M. Ramesh. He counselled us and encouraged us to file a complaint,” the victim’s mother said. Mr Ramesh confirmed that he had referred the case to the Kacheguda police.
Kacheguda inspector K. Satyanarayana is investigating the allegation that sedatives were mixed and whether their physical relationship was consensual. “It is a rape case and further investigations are on,” he said.
Prasanta Patnaik