Haryana: Man accused of attempting to rape dancer held

The Haryana Police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested a man for allegedly trying to rape an orchestra dancer who had attempted suicide alleging police inaction in the case. Paramjit Singh, a resident of village Ugala and owner of the orchestra group, was arrested on charges of attempting to rape the victim, DSP Shahbad Markanda, Surinder Manhju said. He further said that the dancer who was admitted to a private hospital in Kurukshetra after she allegedly tried to end her life on Tuesday has since been discharged. He said that the case has been transferred to the women police station at Kurukshetra for further investigation and action. The 30-year-old dancer, a resident of Shahbad Markanda here, performs at weddings and other events.

A video in which the woman alleges police inaction in the case had gone viral on social media. In the video, the dancer had alleged that police initially refused to register her complaint and she was pressured by some officials to settle the matter with the accused. According to the woman's husband, she approached the police on November 10, but they initially registered a case against the accused on less serious charges under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 354-A (making sexually coloured remarks) of the Indian Penal Code. Deputy Superintendent of Police Surinder Manhju, however, denied allegations of inaction, saying a case has been registered under relevant sections of the IPC. The woman's husband had earlier told reporters that she went to perform with the group on November 9 and after the programme the owner of the group offered her a lift in his car. On the way, the accused tried to rape the dancer and thrashed her when she tried to resist him, he said.