Reality show contestant arrested for raping minor girl

The city police have arrested a 20-year-old reality TV show contestant for allegedly raping a minor girl, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Aditya Gupta, a dancer who had earlier participated in a reality show on television, was arrested by the Crime Branch unit IX on Tuesday in connection with the offence, he said.

The accused recently approached the 17-year-old girl, a resident of suburban Andheri, on social media. The two subsequently met in Andheri on Sunday, he said.

Gupta then took the girl to his home at Nalasopara in the adjoining Palghar district and allegedly raped her after spiking her food and drink, the police official said.

The girl was abandoned near an eatery in Andheri in a semi-conscious state on Monday. She later called her parents and informed them about the incident.

Based on the CCTV footage of the area and her call data records, the police arrested the accused from his residence on Tuesday evening, the official said.

The man was handed over to officials at the D N Nagar police station, where the girl's father had registered a case of kidnap on Monday after she did not return home.

The police booked the accused under relevant sections, including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, the official said.

Further investigation was on into the case, he added.