JAIPUR: In a major twist, the man who allegedly raped a French tourist on Monday has claimed that far from being a rapist, he was himself a victim of a Honey trap. The 29‑year‑old man was arrested for allegedly raping the French tourist who came to Udaipur for an advertisement shoot.
The accused, identified as Pushparaj alias Siddharth Ojha, a resident of Gangrar in Chittorgarh, is the owner of a casting company and has worked on films, music videos, and television serials for the past eight years. According to the police, he has also done casting for Bollywood stars like Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar.
Udaipur Superintendent of Police (SP) Yogesh Goyal said that Pushparaj’s company had hired the woman for a mobile advertisement shoot, which took place on June 22 across various locations in the city, including Lake Pichola, Sajjangarh Fort, and nearby restaurants. After the shooting, the team went to a café near Tiger Hill for a party. Later, Pushparaj allegedly lured the woman to his flat in Sukher on the pretext of smoking and raped her.
During interrogation, Pushparaj confessed to the crime, police said. However, when he was brought to the SP office, he claimed to be a victim of a “honey trap” allegedly set by people from Bollywood. “I have not raped anyone. I am an outsider working in the industry, and this is a conspiracy to send me back. I was not trying to run away. I was about to surrender when I was caught,” he shouted while being taken into custody.
Police added that some people tried to attack the accused when he was being taken to the SP office. Additional Superintendent of Police Umesh Ojha and Deputy Superintendent Kailash Chandra intervened to control the situation and disperse the crowd.
