Surat Ph.D student held for ‘rape on pretext of marriage’

A 37-year-old Ph.D research student was arrested in Surat Wednesday for allegedly raping a physiotherapist on the pretext of marriage.

The accused, Althan resident Virendra Patel who is married and the father of a three-year-old, allegedly posed himself as unmarried and developed physical relationship with the complainant. Patel is a research scholar at Navigation in Indian Constellation (NavIC), India’s own GPS system.

Police said their relationship continued till December last year. But he stopped responding soon after the woman forced him to get married. The woman found out about Patel’s marital status a few days ago and lodged a complaint of rape against him at the Althan police station Monday. The police registered a case under IPC Section 376(2) and arrested Patel Tuesday.