Hyderabad trainee IPS officer taken into custody for alleged sexual harassment

Authorities in Hyderabad arrested a trainee Indian Police Service officer after a fellow trainee lodged a detailed complaint of sexual harassment and intimidation. The 30-year-old woman said the officer had been sending vulgar messages since late June, falsely claimed she was involved with another trainee, and pressured her to admit to a non-existent relationship. On July 9, she alleges he forcibly confined her, grabbed her hair, tried to strangle her with a knife, and secretly filmed her to blackmail her husband.

The FIR, filed on July 18, invokes sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita covering assault, harassment, stalking and insult to modesty, as well as the Information Technology Act. Police questioned the accused on Tuesday before presenting him before a city court. He had earlier served as a constable with the Andhra Pradesh Police and had dismissed the allegations as baseless on social media.