Former minister M Manikandan arrested on charges of rape and forced abortion

By Lokmat English Desk | Published: June 20, 2021 10:15 AM2021-06-20T10:15:40+5:302021-06-20T10:16:13+5:30

Former AIADMK Minister M Manikandan was arrested by a special team of Chennai Police from Bengaluru on Sunday over ...

Former minister M Manikandan arrested on charges of rape and forced abortion | Former minister M Manikandan arrested on charges of rape and forced abortion

Former minister M Manikandan arrested on charges of rape and forced abortion

Former AIADMK Minister M Manikandan was arrested by a special team of Chennai Police from Bengaluru on Sunday over allegedly raping a Malaysian woman. Following the complaint of the 36-year-old woman, who is also a Tamil actor, Manikandan was booked under six Sections of the Indian Penal Code for alleged rape, causing miscarriage, and cheating by the Adyar All Women Police Station. The ex-state minister was evading arrest after the Madras high court refused to grant him anticipatory bail in the case on Wednesday, noting that the charges against him were grave and he could tamper with evidence given the powerful position he held in the past. M Manikandan, a former minister of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu, faces allegations that he lured an actor, a Malaysian citizen, into a relationship for five years on the pretext of marriage, forced her to abort and threatened her. 

The 44-year-old politician has been accused of cheating, rape, causing miscarriage, hurt and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code apart from section 67 (a) of the Information Technology Act that relates to publishing sexually explicit acts online .Manikandan was allegedly introduced to the Malaysian actor in May 2017 while the latter was working with the Malaysian Tourism Development Organisation. According to the prosecution's complaints, the then state minister had offered to marry the Malaysian actor after divorcing his wife. The actor claimed that the minister developed a relationship with her on the pretext of investing in stocks in Malaysia. The two even stayed together, travelling across Chennai and Delhi, the prosecution said, adding that the accused impregnated the woman thrice, forced her to abort and continued to have sexual intercourse with her in a forceful and brutal manner. However, Manikandan, during an interview with a local Tamil channel, had said that he doesn’t know the woman and this was a conspiracy to extort money from him and malign his image.

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