Ghaziabad: Popular Bhojpuri actor, IPL commentator, and YouTuber Mani Meraj, who has millions of followers, has been arrested by the Ghaziabad police from Patna in Bihar on charges of rape, forced religious conversion, abortion and fraud.
The arrest was made on the basis of a complaint by a woman YouTuber, the police claimed. Meraj was taken to Ghaziabad on a transit remand.
Investigation in the matter revealed that Meraj was a butcher before gaining popularity on social media through comedy videos. He went on to act in Bhojpuri films, with one of his movies released recently. He also commentated on IPL matches in Bhojpuri for Jio TV.
The complainant alleged that Meraj befriended her under a false identity, drugged her, and repeatedly raped her under the pretext of marriage.
She also accused him of forced unnatural sex, pressurising her to convert, and compelling her to undergo an abortion. Meraj and his family also pressurised her to eat beef and recite the kalma, she claimed.
Meraj allegedly abused the woman for the past three years and also defrauded her of several lakhs of rupees.
“Following a detailed investigation by the Khoda police team, the accused has been arrested from Patna. Further action is underway,” Abhishek Srivastava, ACP, Indirapuram, said.
The police are now interrogating the accused to probe the alleged “love jihad” angle in the case.