A Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district was booked for allegedly raping a woman after promising to marry her and then calling off the wedding over dowry, police said on Thursday.
Panna superintendent of police Riyaz Iqbal said a case has been registered against JMFC Manoj Soni for rape and demanding dowry under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and Dowry Prohibition Act.
Soni is the JMFC with Ajaygarh civil court of Panna district.
Iqbal said investigation is underway and the court’s permission would be sought before arresting Soni.
In her complaint, the victim, a state government employee, said her family members went to Soni’s place in Chhatarpur with a marriage proposal in 2015, the SP said.
A year later, the JMFC contacted her and invited her to Jugal Kishore temple in Panna district and promised to marry her and applied sindoor on her forehead, the complaint said.
The complainant told police that the accused had physical relation with her on February 19 in Rewa district and several times later after promising marriage.
Meanwhile, the victim has moved MP high court in Jabalpur seeking that Soni’s proposed marriage to another woman on June 18 be stayed. The matter will come up for hearing on June 18.
Talking to reporters in Panna, the victim said on Thursday that she had got engaged to Soni in the temple but he called off the wedding as his demand for dowry was not met.
She demanded his immediate arrest and also alleged that she is being threatened.
Source: HindustanTimes