Hyderabad: Trainee IPS Officer Accused of 'Sexual Harassment' Arrested

 A trainee IPS officer, accused of "sexually harassing" a woman co-trainee at a police training academy here, was arrested on Wednesday.

"He (trainee IPS officer) has been arrested and produced before a city court," police sources told PTI.

A case was registered against the 32-year-old trainee IPS officer on July 18 for "stalking and sexually harassing" the woman trainee at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) here.

The accused was questioned by the police in this connection on Tuesday.

Following the registration of the case, the accused had, in a social media post, said that the complaint and rumours were "baseless".

A 30-year-old woman trainee IPS officer had lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that the trainee officer had been harassing her by sending sexually abusive messages through an instant messaging application since June 23 and making derogatory remarks about her at the academy in the presence of her friends.

She alleged that he falsely accused her of having a sexual relationship with another trainee, pressured her to admit to such a relationship and verbally abused her. She alleged that on July 9, he wrongfully restrained her, forcibly took her to his room, grabbed her by the hair, attempted to strangle her, held a knife to her neck and prevented her from leaving the room.

The complainant accused him of recording a private video of her without her knowledge or consent and sending it to her husband in an attempt to blackmail her.

Based on the complaint, Attapur police registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, sexual harassment, stalking, and words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman, besides provisions of the Information Technology Act, police said.

The accused trainee officer had previously served as a constable in the Andhra Pradesh Police.