Jaisalmer: Barmer police launched an investigation after a patwari allegedly raped an agriculture supervisor, a widow, after luring her with the promise of marriage by posing as an aspiring Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) candidate.In her complaint lodged at Women Police Station on Nov 7, the victim alleged that the accused, identified as Kesha Ram, took her from Barmer to Balotra and sexually assaulted her at a resort near Nakoda after mixing an intoxicating substance in her cold drink. He subsequently threatened to circulate her obscene videos and photographs on social media to blackmail her.Sarita Vishnoi, station house officer of Women Police Station, said a case had been registered against Ram based on the victim’s complaint. The police are completing the process of the victim’s medical examination and recording her statement. Police are also examining CCTV footage from the resort, digital conversations and call detail records, she said.The woman met the patwari during a crop-cutting survey. When she told him that she was a widow whose husband had died after their marriage in childhood, he allegedly offered to arrange her marriage with a young man preparing for the RAS exam.According to the complaint, on Oct 9, the patwari called her to Barmer, claiming that he would introduce her to an RAS aspirant. He later told her that the bus had broken down and that she would have to accompany him to Balotra. The two travelled in his car. He allegedly took her to a resort near Nakoda where he raped her.Fearing social stigma and humiliation, she did not initially disclose the incident to anyone. Both returned to Barmer the following day, Oct 10.The woman alleged that the patwari continued communicating with her over phone calls and chats by impersonating a person named Rahul, who was supposedly preparing for the RAS exam. He also sent her photographs of another person to reinforce the false identity. However, when she met him, she discovered that the person posing as Rahul was none other than the patwari himself.
