AHMEDABAD: The Ahmedabad police on Sunday booked the CMD of a major pharmaceutical company in the state for rape following the Gujarat HC's order on allegations levelled by a Bulgarian woman.
ACP H M Kansagra said, "Complying with the court order, we filed a complaint on Sunday against Cadila Pharmaceuticals CMD Rajiv Modi under IPC sections 376 (rape), 354 (molestation), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoking breach of peace."
The investigating officer, inspector R H Solanki of the Sola police station, said the cops will take the statement of the complainant and the witnesses after which they will arrest the accused. "There is an alleged involvement of another company staffer, Johnson Mathew, who had abetted the crime according to the complainant," Solanki said.
An email query sent by TOI to Rajiv Modi went unanswered. Attempts to reach him on phone for comments on the matter did not elicit any response till the time of going to press.
On December 22, the HC had ordered an investigation into the allegation of rape levelled against Modi. The HC directed that the probe be supervised by a senior IPS officer nominated by the deputy inspector general of police (law and order).
The HC acted while quashing a magisterial court's order that rejected the 27-year-old woman's application for an FIR and directed the magistrate to order an investigation under Section 156(3) of the CrPC.
The HC judge observed irregularities in the magisterial court's process, including the court's rejection of the complaint by shifting the burden of proof on the survivor instead of asking police to investigate. This is despite the woman making allegations that were cognizable.
Similarly, police officials - an assistant commissioner of police and two police inspectors - were called out by the high court for their inaction. The woman has accused an official of the Mahila police station and the inspectors of the Sola police station - J B Agrawat and R H Solanki - of inaction.
The woman had joined the pharmaceutical company as a flight attendant in November 2022 and was later made to work as a personal assistant to the CMD. She accused him of sexual harassment and rape in February 2023. She said that she was fired after she
registered
the complaint. She sent her complaint to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office and the city police commissioner, who forwarded it to the Mahila police station (West) on April 9.
When police allegedly did not act, she moved the magisterial court. She finally filed a petition in the HC seeking an FIR for rape, sexual harassment and criminal intimidation against the CMD and Mathew who had recruited her.
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