Two held for raping, blackmailing Bhopal college students with ‘fake identities’; SIT formed

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The Madhya Pradesh Police have formed a special investigation team (SIT) after it arrested two men who allegedly concealed their identities to befriend women, raped and blackmailed them in capital Bhopal, officers said. 

According to the police, the incident came to light after two sisters, students at a private college in Bhopal, lodged a complaint at Bagsewania police station on April 18, accusing one Farhan Ali alias Faraz of befriending her when she was a minor, and raping and filming her. 

At least three survivors have come to the fore so far and FIRs have been filed in at least two police stations under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) and M.P. Freedom of Religion Act, 2021. 

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Nihit Upadhyay, who is part of the SIT, told The Hindu that two accused, including Ali, have been arrested while the police are currently searching for three more men, who allegedly held the accused. 

“After the first complaint, we traced similar cases and found that similar complaints had been lodged in a few other police stations in the city, including Jahangirabad where Ali is already booked in a rape case,” he said, adding that Ali had earlier been a student at the same college where the two sisters are studying. 

Mr. Upadhyay said that the police are also trying to find out if there are more victims targeted by the accused or his friends.

Referring to the infamous Ajmer rape scandal, he said that the police are working to see if a “similar pattern” emerges in the case.    

Another police officer, who is involved with the probe, said, that a common modus operandi has been noticed in the cases of the three survivors. 

“The accused befriended the girls using fake names and record their private videos. The videos were used to blackmail them,” the officer said, requesting anonymity.

“Ali had befriended one of the two sisters about two years ago when the girl was a minor. He used the video clips to blackmail her into introducing her friends to his,” the officer added.