The Delhi Police have booked former BJP MLA Manoj Shokeen for allegedly raping and threatening his daughter-in-law at gun point on the intervening night of 31 December 2018 and 1 January 2019, the police said on Saturday.
The victim approached the police on Thursday, following which an FIR was registered against Shokeen, a former two-time MLA from Nangloi Assembly seat.
According to the police, the survivor has alleged in her complaint that on 31 December 2018, she left her maternal home along with her husband, brother, and a cousin, and were going to her in-laws home in Meera Bagh area.
But instead of taking her to their house, her husband took her to a hotel in Paschim Vihar area.
“When we reached the hotel, some of my relatives were already present there to celebrate New Year's Eve. After the party, we went to my in-laws house at Meera Bagh at around 12.30 a.m. on January 1. My husband went out with his friends while I went to sleep,” the FIR read.
The police said that she further claimed that at around 1.30 am, her father-in-law Shokeen asked her to open the door as he wanted to talk to her. The FIR added,
“After he entered the room, he started touching me inappropriately. Following which I asked him go off to sleep as he was drunk. However, he took out his gun, slapped me and threatened to kill my brother when I tried to raise an alarm. He then overpowered me and raped me. Initially in order to save the marriage and my brother, I stopped myself from filing a complaint against him.”FIR filed by the victim against BJP MLA Manoj Shokeen
The victim also mentioned that there was already a domestic violence case registered against her in-laws at the Crime Against Women (CAW) cell in the Saket court, which she had filed soon after her marriage in December 2018.
"On July 7 this year in the CAW cell, my mother and father were harassed. An FIR has been filed in the Saket police station in this regard. On Wednesday, when I reached the Saket court regarding the domestic violence case and met the protection officer to record my statement, the concerned protection officer assured me of my and my family's safety. Following which I narrated my ordeal to the officer and my parents," the FIR read.
According to the police, a case has been registered against Shokeen under Sections 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
"We [have] initiated a probe in this case and appropriate action will be taken," said Seju P. Kuruvilla, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer).
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)