Ex-AIADMK Minister Arrested in Bengaluru Over Rape Charges

M Manikandan was the former Information Technology Minister under the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu.

(Photo: Facebook)

Former AIADMK Minister M Manikandan, booked under charges of rape, has been arrested by the Chennai Police in Bengaluru in the wee hours of Sunday, 20 June.

A special team was formed to nab the former IT Minister under the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government, who was on the run after the Madras High Court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea.

According to reports, the police have not revealed the location from where the absconding minister was arrested or where he is being investigated at present.

Following a complaint filed by an actor, the Adyar All-Women Police Station booked him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Sections 376 (rape), 313 (causing miscarriage without woman’s consent), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 417 (punishment for cheating), 506 (i) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, and relevant sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

It was reported earlier that the Minister had allegedly been in a live-in relationship with the woman for about five years. While promising to marry her, he had made her pregnant thrice and allegedly forced her to abort all three times.

The woman, a Malaysian-born Indian who has also acted in a few Tamil films, also alleged that the ex-minister threatened her family when she asked him to keep up his promise of marrying her.

Manikandan, who was the former Information Technology Minister under the AIADMK government, was introduced to the woman in 2017. He had befriended her under the pretext of making investments in Malaysia, following which the former minister allegedly expressed his interest to marry her even while he was already married to another woman.

Manikandan was elected to the Tamil Nadu Assembly from the Ramanathapuram constituency and held office between 2016 and 2019.

(This story was first published on The News Minute and has been republished in an arrangement with The Quint)