Court relief for suspended Maharashtra DIG Paraskar accused of raping model

The complainant had alleged that Paraskar, 57, had molested and sexually assaulted her on two occasions in 2013

A city sessions court on Friday discharged suspended deputy inspector general (DIG) Sunil Paraskar, who was accused of raping a 25-year-old model.

The complainant had alleged that Paraskar, 57, had molested and sexually assaulted her on two occasions in 2013. In her complaint, the woman said she first met Paraskar in 2012, when he was additional commissioner of police, with regards to a case.

On the basis of the complaint, the Malwani police had registered a case against Paraskar under sections 376 (2) (rape by a police officer), 376C (intercourse by superintendent of jail, remand home, etc) of the Indian Penal Code.

“The charges made by the woman were false and so Paraskar has been discharged. There was no evidence to prove the charges against him,” said Rizwan Merchant, Paraskar’s lawyer.

Special public prosecutor Pradip Gharat said, “The order was pronounced in court and we have applied for a copy of the order and after its perusal, a further course of action will be taken.”

Reacting to the court’s decision, the woman said, “The judgment was passed without giving me a chance to speak before the judge. I am upset with the judgment and will appeal to a higher court. I have strong evidence and witnesses. This is injustice as many comments were made about my character. This case was not about my character, but about a crime that was committed,” she said.

After the judgement, Paraskar told the media that he would have killed himself if was sent to jail just for a day and this would have destroyed his family. “A number of officers have committed suicide in such situations and there was a time when it crossed my mind too,” he said. Paraskar added his family has suffered the worst kind of trauma owing to these allegations.