New Delhi: The Delhi Police has issued a lookout circular against ET Now anchor Varun Hiremath, who has been accused of rape by a 22-year-old woman, and has barred him from leaving the country.Police have said that Hiremath has been absconding since February 23 when the FIR was registered against him, reported the Indian Express.Two police teams were also sent to Mumbai and Gujarat to arrest him and several raids were conducted at various locations as well, police said. “We have registered an FIR and are conducting raids to nab him. Further investigation is underway,” said DCP (New Delhi district) Eish Singhal.Police had initially tried to reach Hiremath for questioning after serving a notice on him but he had switched off his phone and soon became untraceable.“With the help of technical surveillance, we found his last location was in Gujarat and a team was sent there,” a senior police officer said. “The officers also met his associates, who are not aware of his current location. Police are monitoring the activities of his family members and close friends. Fearing that he would leave the country, we opened an LoC on Tuesday.”According to Newslaundry, the Bombay high court on Monday rejected Hiremath’s anticipatory bail application.Also read: TV Anchor Accused of Rape, Police Say ‘Evading Investigation’The complainant’s lawyer Jai Dehadrai told Newslaundry that she underwent a medical examination and recorded her statement before a magistrate on February 24. Hiremath has been charged with sections 376 (punishment of offence of rape), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code.In her complaint filed last Tuesday, the woman said that she had known Hiremath for three years and met him on the morning of February 21 at Delhi’s Khan Market following which she went to a hotel in Chanakyapuri. The complaint reads, “I met the accused at a restaurant … where the accused had wine, and I did not consume any alcohol. Following that, the accused asked me to accompany him to his hotel, where he was staying with his family. However, at this juncture, it is crucial to emphasise that I had only agreed to spend time to chat and catch up with the accused, and at no point of time was this an indication of willingness or consent to engage in any sexual activity let alone intercourse.”In her complaint, she also said that Hiremath “hails from an extremely powerful family, and, therefore, has resources to tamper with evidence, before the investigation has begun”. Hiremath is reportedly the son of a Mumbai based businessman who owns a pharmaceutical company.The legal head of the Times Network, Manish Wadkar, told Newslaundry: “The matter is under investigation and we don’t know what is happening in that. We have not laid him off.” In response to queries over whether Hiremath was still an official employee of the company, Wadkar said, “Yes. But he is not coming to office.”