The complaint was filed by the 42-year-old female constable, as stated in the First Information Report (FIR).
Bhopal, March 28: A senior Army officer has been accused of raping a female police constable in Bhopal after falsely promising to marry her, according to the police.
The accused, Varun Pratap Singh (48), is a Lieutenant Colonel currently serving in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. The police registered a case against him on Thursday under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 69 (sexual intercourse using deceitful means or a false promise of marriage) and 351 (2) (criminal intimidation).
The complaint was filed by the 42-year-old female constable, as stated in the First Information Report (FIR).
Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita states as follows:
“Whoever, by deceitful means or by making promise to marry to a woman without any intention of fulfilling the same, has sexual intercourse with her, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine”.
Explanation.—“deceitful means” shall include inducement for, or false promise of employment or promotion, or marrying by suppressing identity.”
Deceitful means: Under this section would mean consensual sexual intercourse under the false pretense of employment or marriage.
False promises: This would imply the person in question who made the promise has no intention of fulfilling such promises.
Not amounting to rape: The element of consent is present, hence the act would not amount to rape, but since the element of deceit is involved, the act would be punishable for 10 years under the new code
According to the complaint, the woman, who serves as a constable in the Madhya Pradesh Police, first met Singh in 2012. At that time, he introduced himself as a bachelor and claimed he was posted at an Army canteen.
She stated that on December 25, 2012, Singh invited her to his residence in Bhopal.
That day, they had “consensual physical relations” after he assured her that he would marry her.
However, in 2013, she discovered that Singh was already married. When she confronted him about it, he allegedly told her that he was about to divorce his wife.
Over the years, Singh kept postponing the marriage, citing various reasons. According to the FIR, he often claimed that his “parents were unwell” as an excuse to delay their wedding.
The situation escalated on February 24, 2025, when the police constable found out that Singh was involved with multiple women, to whom he had also made false promises of marriage.
When she confronted him regarding his relationships, Singh reportedly became aggressive and refused to marry her.
According to the FIR, he told her, “I won’t marry you now.”
He also allegedly issued a serious threat, saying, “If I lodge a complaint, he will bump me off and hang me.”
Based on the woman’s complaint, the police have registered a case and are investigating the matter. Singh is currently posted with the Army Service Corps (Mechanized Transport) battalion.
