The son of a Congress MLA from Rajasthan, Deepak alias Dilip Meena, was arrested on Monday for his involvement in the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl in February 2021, according to police. Deepak is the son of Johari Lal Meena, a Congress legislator from the Rajgarh assembly constituency.
Two other suspects named Vivek Sharma and Netram Samleti had previously been arrested in the case, which was filed in March 2022 at the Mandawar police station in Dausa district. The victim alleged that the suspects took her to a hotel on the Mahwa-Mandawar Road and sexually assaulted her, filming the incident and threatening to share the video on social media unless she paid them Rs 15 lakh.
The matter came to light when the victim's family reported the theft of cash and jewellery from their home, prompting an investigation that led to the discovery of the rape. Meena has been remanded to judicial custody until January 13 by a special court handling cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
In March last year, the owner of the hotel where the alleged crime took place said that Netram Samleti was the manager of the hospital. He also said that Netram has claimed to not know Deepak. "There is no record of anyone coming to the hotel on February 24, 2021, the date on which the girl has alleged that she was raped. Lockdown was imposed and hence, business was closed," he said.
He said that CCTV camera footage are there, but there is no backup. "We don't have any relation with Netram of Deepak," he said.
Earlier, the survivor's father had alleged that Deepak Meena was being shielded by political influence. The Survivor demanded capital punishment for the accused.
(With inputs from PTI.)