Ludhiana: Man booked for raping, blackmailing minor girl

According to the victim, the accused manipulated her under the disguise of marriage, only to subject her to repeatedly raping her and dowry harassment after marriage

The Tibba police have booked a man identified as Ankush Mehra, a resident of Subhash Nagar near HVM School, for allegedly raping a minor girl after luring her into marriage. The accused has also been alleged of blackmailing her with obscene photographs.

The accused has also been alleged of blackmailing her with obscene photographs. (HT Photo)

According to the victim, the accused manipulated her under the disguise of marriage, only to subject her to repeatedly raping her and dowry harassment after marriage. He allegedly misappropriated her dowry belongings and used her objectionable photographs to blackmail her into performing unnatural sexual acts. The complainant further alleged that he repeatedly threatened to kill her minor daughter if she refused to comply with his actions.

Following the complaint, a case has been registered against the accused under Sections 316(2), 85, 64(1) and 351(2) of the BNS, along with Section 4 of the POCSO Act on June 25.

According to police, during the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that the accused, Ankush Mehra had lured the victim, now an 18-year-old woman, into a marriage when she was still a minor.

ASI Kamaljit Singh from Tibba police station said, “The accused allegedly lured the victim into marriage about six months ago. According to the victim’s family, he is a drug addict who frequently harassed her for dowry items and also subjected her to domestic violence. We are investigating the matter and efforts are underway to arrest the accused at the earliest.”