Bhubaneswar, May 28: A 37-year-old woman today lodged a complaint with Mahila police here, alleging that a married man had raped her on the promise of marrying her and also forced her into prostitution.

The woman also alleged that the man, a resident of Bhubaneswar, had taken her nude photographs and was blackmailing her.

The woman has a six-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son. She has divorced from her previous marriage. She came in contact with the man while working as a receptionist with an insurance company. She had joined the company in December 2015.

"I came in contact with him eight months ago and subsequently we got closer. He kept physical relationship with me on the pretext of marrying me. He took me to several places, including Puri. During our relationship, he had taken several nude photographs of me," alleged the woman.

She also alleged that in March, the accused had lured her into prostitution for a few months to earn easy money which, he said, would help facilitate their marriage.

"Initially, I had rejected his offer. But, he started threatening to circulate my photographs on the social media. Later, he kept me with four other women at a rented accommodation at Khandagiri. I had been forced into prostitution for around one month," alleged the woman.

She managed to escape from the Khandagiri house on May 18. "I managed to hide in the dickey of a car to escape from the place. Later, I reached Bariapda and went to the police," she said.

However, the role of Mayurbhanj police came under scanner after they refused to lodge her complaint with the excuse that the place where the crime was committed did not fall in their jurisdiction.

"Mayurbhanj police should have immediately lodged the complaint and conducted a medical test on the victim. Later, they could have transferred the case to Bhubaneswar," said a social activist, who accompanied her to Mahila police station.

The police suspect that the man might have had trapped other women in similar fashion and later forced them into prostitution.

"We have registered a case under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 354-C (voyeurism) and 376 (rape). The victim has been sent for medical examination, and she will also be taken for spot verification," said Mahila police station inspector-in-charge Imankalyan Nayak.