Casting company owner arrested for raping French woman in Udaipur

A 29-year-old man was arrested from Chittorgarh for allegedly raping a French woman who had come to Udaipur for an advertisement shoot, officials said on Wednesday.

The accused, identified as Pushparaj alias Siddharth Ojha, a resident of Gangrar in Chittorgarh, owns a casting company and has worked on films, music videos and television serials, police officials said, adding that he has been living in Udaipur for the past eight years.

Pushparaj’s company hired the woman for a mobile advertisement shoot, which took place on June 22 at various locations in Udaipur, including Lake Pichola, Sajjangarh Fort and local restaurants, Udaipur SP Yogesh Goyal said.

Following the shoot, the crew allegedly held a party at a cafe near Tiger Hill.

After the party, Pushparaj took the woman to his flat in Sukher under the pretext of smoking and allegedly sexually assaulted her there.

Pushparaj confessed to the crime during questioning, the police claimed.

Meanwhile, some local Congress workers, led by city Congress president Fateh Singh Rathore, allegedly confronted Pushparaj as the police brought him in for questioning.

Some even allegedly attempted to assault him, pulling at his arms while he was being taken to the SP office.

Additional SP Umesh Ojha and DSP Kailash Chandra intervened to calm the situation and disperse the crowd.

The party workers also held a protest outside the collectorate regarding law and order issues.