Mumbai: BJP leader booked for rape

Mumbai: Senior BJP leader and former spokesperson of the party`s state unit Madhu Chavan was booked by the Mumbai police for rape and cheating.

He was arrested after a 50-year-old woman approached the Kalachowkie police station, alleging that Chavan had been raping her for the last 20 years with promises of marriage. The woman, a former BJP member, gave a written application against Chavan. In her 11-page statement, she has alleged that "Chavan had been having sexual relations with her, which began shortly after they became acquainted in 1993, and had made several promises to her", the police said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 5) Dhananjay Kulkarni, said, "The complainant has alleged that she was being raped since 1993, and Chavan had promised to divorce his wife and marry her, as well as buy a flat." The woman, has also alleged that in 2005 Chavan took her to a temple in Mumbai, where they exchanged rings and garlands, after which Chavan declared that they were married, Kulkarni said. The police have registered a complaint against Chavan for rape, cheating and cohabitation inducing a belief of marriage under sections 376, 420 and 493 of the Indian Penal Code. The police have said that they would verify the allegations before deciding further course of action. The woman will soon undergo medical tests. "We will soon question Chavan in connection with the allegations," Kulkarni said. Reacting to the case, BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said, "The party will look into all the aspects and then take a decision in the matter." ANI