Former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Minister M Manikandan was arrested on Sunday for raping a woman in 2017, reported The Hindu. The Chennai Police arrested him from Bengaluru.

The woman had lodged a complaint against Manikandan on May 28. The former minister was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 376 (rape), 313 (causing miscarriage without woman’s consent), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 417 (punishment for cheating), 506 (i) (criminal intimidation) and the Information Technology Act.

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The police had formed two teams to arrest Manikandan, who was absconding. Earlier in June, he had moved the Madras High Court seeking anticipatory bail.

However, last week, the High Court had refused to extend the protection granted to him, reported The News Minute. On Wednesday, the court had refused to grant Manikandan anticipatory bail.

The Tamil Nadu Police said that the former minister was evading arrest after the court’s decision, reported ANI.

The woman, who is an actor, had told the police that Manikandan cheated her after being in a live-in relationship with her for years. She alleged that the former minister had promised to marry her and got her pregnant thrice. He had also forced her to get abortions and threatened her family members in Malaysia when she insisted on getting married, the woman has alleged.

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The woman said that she met Manikandan in 2017 through a mutual friend when she was working to promote tourism in Malaysia, reported The Indian Express. Manikandan was then the information technology minister.

The woman claimed that within a few days of developing a romantic relationship, the politician had proposed to marry her even though he was already married.

Manikandan had threatened to release her private pictures online unless she went back to Malaysia, the woman alleged. She also accused the former minister of assaulting her.

However, Manikandan had told a Tamil news channel in an interview that he had no ties to the woman. He had claimed that it was a conspiracy to extort money from him and malign his image.