Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar : Police have arrested a naturopath and the BJP’s Phulambri taluka president following a woman’s allegation that she was sexually assaulted after being administered sedative pills at a clinic and that a video of the incident was circulated on social media.
A court has remanded the naturopath, Ramdas Mahadu Tarte (54), and the politician, Uttam Bhagaji Dhoke (50), in police custody. When contacted, sub-divisional police officer Pooja Nagare, who is also the investigation officer, confirmed that an FIR was registered soon after the complaint was received on Oct 20, and both the accused were arrested the following day. Another officer said Tarte in his statement to police before being arrested alleged that a relative of Dhoke had threatened to circulate the video and demanded Rs 20 lakh from him.
A senior police officer said, “The probe revealed that Dhoke had roped in a staffer working at Tarte’s clinic for recording the video, and used it to target him and later circulated it in social media.
The officer added that Tarte told police that the video had been allegedly sent to Dhoke on WhatsApp. Police registered a case against the two under relevant provisions of BNS and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. In addition to this, sections of the Information Technology Act have also been invoked. Police subsequently investigated Dhoke’s alleged role in the video’s circulation and arrested him.