'Sexual assault' at UP Bhawan in Delhi: Suspect held

NEW DELHI: A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Uttar Pradesh Bhawan in central Delhi has been arrested. The suspect has been identified as Rajyavardhan Singh Parmar, who is the general secretary of a self-styled group named Maharana Pratap Sena, police said.
Parmar was arrested from Ujjain after an FIR was registered against him by a woman on May 27. According to police, he has been booked on charges of rape and molestation. The alleged incident took place on May 26. The cops received a complaint from the woman a day later after which an inquiry was initiated.
The woman said in her complaint that she came to know about Parmar through a common friend. "She met him for the first time at a coffee shop on May 25. The next day, he called her to meet and then took her to UP Bhawan on the pretext that he would make her meet some politicians there," an official said.
The accused allegedly took her to a room where no one was there and asked the woman to wait. "He went to the bathroom and came out naked. He started forcing himself on me and when I objected, Parmar threatened me that he would destroy my career," the woman had claimed. Parmar has, however, denied charges.
The CCTV footage of the premises shows the accused entering one of the rooms around 12.15 pm on the day of the incident, a senior officer said. The footage shows him exiting the room around 1.05 pm.
According to police, the accused had allegedly got one of the rooms opened on the pretext of a booking for a senior officer. The UP government is also learnt to have initiated action against some officials posted at UP Bhawan for allowing him inside the premises.
The cops had initally registered a case under IPC sections 354 (molestation), 354 A (sexual harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation) on May 27. Section 376 (rape) of IPC was added to the FIR later.
Police will now produce the suspect before the court and ask for judicial custody.