IIT research scholar who had accused police officer of rape booked in UP's Kanpur

NEW DELHI: In a turn of events, police have registered an FIR against a 27-year-old research scholar from the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K), who had previously alleged rape against a senior police official. The FIR has been filed on a complaint from Suhaila Saif, the wife of Mohsin Khan, an assistant commissioner of police (ACP) accused of sexually exploiting the IIT-K student.

According to ACP-Kalyanpur Abhishek Pandey, the Rawatpur police station registered the case following orders from the chief metropolitan magistrate's (CMM) court on Wednesday. Sub-Inspector Pushpraj Singh has been assigned to conduct an investigation into the charges. Elaborating on the allegations to the media, Saif said the IIT-K student arrived at her official residence in Rawatpur on December 1 last year and allegedly barged into her room.

At the time, Saif's parents and her newborn child were also there in the house. Saif claimed that the research scholar locked the door from inside and identified herself as a PhD student from the IIT-K. She allegedly stated her desire to marry Khan, expressing her affection for him and asserting that Saif and her children were obstacles to this union.

Scholar threatened false charges

Furthermore, Saif alleged that the research scholar demanded that she leave Khan and threatened her with false accusations. She also purportedly threatened to get the police officer suspended on charges of physical exploitation and also threatened self-harm to implicate him and others if her demands were not met. Saif said when she objected to these statements, the woman became furious and violent, verbally abusing her and her family and issuing death threats.

Saif also alleged that her husband was deliberately implicated in what she described as a "honey trap". Saif approached the court after reviewing the report filed by the Rawatpur police in the matter. The court subsequently ordered the registration of a case against the IIT-K student and directed for a proper investigation into the charges.

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Transferred after rape allegation

The then ACP, Collectorganj, Khan was transferred on December 12 last year following the initial allegations of rape made by the IIT-K research scholar. A Provincial Police Service officer from the 2013 batch, Khan was relieved of his duties in the Collectorganj circle and attached to the director general of police (DGP) headquarters in Lucknow.

He was also booked at the Kalyanpur police station on Thursday for allegedly seeking "sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means" and subsequently, placed under suspension. The IIT-K had also terminated Khan's PhD programme in cybercrime and criminology approximately four months ago, following a recommendation from the DGP headquarters.