The police have launched a manhunt for an Army colonel posted in Kanpur for allegedly intoxicating his friend, then sexually assaulting his wife, who is a Russian national, at an officers’ mess. An FIR was lodged at the Cantonment Police Station on Sunday by the victim’s husband.

The husband, in his complaint, said that accused had thrown a party for his promotion to the rank of a colonel and had invited him and his wife to it on Saturday, India Today reported.

“The complainant has alleged that he was offered a sedated drink, following which he fell unconscious. The Colonel then raped the victim. The Russian woman has been living in India for the past 10 years now,” Superintendent of Police (East) Raj Kumar Agarwal told India Today.

The police have formed several teams to conduct the probe and arrest the accused colonel, who also allegedly assaulted the woman when she resisted his advances.

A case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).