Meerut gym owner held for raping Dalit woman

A gym owner was arrested for allegedly raping a 21-year-old Dalit law student who used to workout at his establishment, a senior police officer said on Sunday

A gym owner was arrested for allegedly raping a 21-year-old Dalit law student who used to workout at his establishment, a senior police officer said on Sunday.

Meerut Superintendent of Police (City), Purush Kumar Singh, identified the accused as Bharat Yadav and said that he allegedly raped the survivor at his brother’s hotel on October 12.

According to the complaint filed by the survivor’s father on Saturday, she was working out at the gym on the day of the incident and suffered an injury. The accused then took her to the hotel where he sedated her with a spiked drink and raped her, the complaint states, adding that he also shot a video of the crime and started blackmailing the survivor later.

The complaint states that Yadav posted the video on social media when the woman refused to visit the gym subsequently.

SP Singh said a case was registered against Yadav on the basis of the complaint under IPC sections for rape and blackmail as well as relevant provisions of the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.