Kerala Navy officer held on rape charges; victim's father accuses him of making false promise of marriage

Kottayam: A 38-year-old Navy officer has been arrested in Kerala on charges of raping a woman, police said Sunday. The woman’s father had lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that the Navy officer raped his daughter after making a false promise to marry her. [caption id=“attachment_4486391” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] Murali Kumar, a chief petty officer of Navy in Mumbai, was arrested and remanded in judicial custody yesterday, police said. He has also been charged under the SC/ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act. The victim in her early 20’s alleged that Kumar raped her when she had gone to meet him at a hotel in Kerala last week. He had allegedly invited her to the hotel room, police said. The incident came to light when the woman was admitted to a private hospital near here, police said. Kumar, a two-time Mr Asia title holder and eight-time Mr India title winner, allegedly befriended the woman through social media. Police said they would file a report with naval authorities on the incident.