India News | Another Rape Case Lodged Against Jalgaon Native Praful Lodha
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Pune police have registered a case of rape against Jalgaon native Praful Lodha, who has already been arrested in Mumbai for allegedly sexually abusing two minor girls and raping a woman on the pretext of getting them jobs, officials said on Tuesday.
Pune, Jul 22 (PTI) The Pune police have registered a case of rape against Jalgaon native Praful Lodha, who has already been arrested in Mumbai for allegedly sexually abusing two minor girls and raping a woman on the pretext of getting them jobs, officials said on Tuesday.
A 23-year-old woman alleged that Lodha called her to a hotel here in May, assured he would get a job for her husband and sought sexual favours in return, a police official said.
"But when the woman refused, he allegedly threatened her and raped her," an official from Bavdhan police station at Pimpri Chinchwad in Pune district said.
A case was registered against Lodha on July 17 under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections for rape and criminal intimidation and further probe was on, the official said.
Lodha (62), who hails from Jalgaon in Maharashtra, is said to have a close association with some politicians.
The Mumbai police earlier this month arrested him for allegedly sexually abusing two 16-year-old girls and raping a woman on the pretext of giving them jobs, an official said on Monday. Following his arrest, the police searched Lodha's properties in Jalgaon, Jamner, and Pahur and seized a laptop, pen drive and some electronic items, he said. The accused has been booked by the Mumbai police under relevant provisions of the BNS and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday pointed to a photograph of Maharashtra BJP minister Girish Mahajan with Lodha. Later, Mahajan claimed Lodha had photos with leaders across party lines, including NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, party MLA Jayant Patil, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule. The BJP leader maintained that being seen in a photograph with someone does not imply involvement in any wrongdoing and accused Raut of making irresponsible statements without evidence.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)