The Daba police arrested an 18-year-old youth for allegedly raping his 17-year-old friend on the pretext of marriage, officials said. They added that the accused later refused to marry the girl.
The accused was identified as Gurdeep Thakur, 18, of Daba Road. He is an employee with a food delivery aggregator.
The complainant, a resident of Daba, said she befriended the accused a few months ago and alleged that the latter established physical relations with her on the pretext of marriage. Their parents were aware of the relationship and had no objections, she said.
The complainant said that she heard some things about his character and asked Gurdeep to clarify it. On June 6, the accused called her to a room near Gill Road, sedated her and raped her, she alleged. Later, the accused refused to marry her and she filed a police complaint.
Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Sohan Das, who is investigating the case, said that a first-information report (FIR) under sections 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against the accused and arrested him. The accused was produced in a court on Thursday and remanded to one-day police custody.