Kolhapur police on Wednesday registered a second FIR in an ongoing sexual exploitation case, widening the investigation against the accused.
Police officials said a fresh case has been filed against Shahid Sanade in the Hatkanangale area on charges of rape and sexual exploitation of another woman. Sanade is already in custody in connection with an earlier case.
To probe the case in detail, Kolhapur police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by additional superintendent of police Dr B. Dheeraj Kumar. The team includes sub-divisional police officer Priya Patil, along with other senior officers and women police personnel, to ensure sensitive handling of the case.
A 22-year-old woman approached police on Tuesday and lodged a complaint after being counselled by officers. Based on her statement, an FIR was registered against Sanade under charges of rape and sexual exploitation.
Neelotpal, Superintendent of Police, Kolhapur, said, “A second FIR has been registered against accused Sanade following a complaint by another victim. Once his custody in the earlier case ends, we will formally arrest him in this case and carry out a detailed investigation.”
Police sources said the alleged incident occurred in 2022, when both the victim and the accused were studying in Class 12.
{{/usCountry}}Police sources said the alleged incident occurred in 2022, when both the victim and the accused were studying in Class 12.
{{/usCountry}}Police custody for 4 days
The accused, Shahid Sanade and Shah Rukh Husen Desai were produced before a court on Wednesday. The court remanded them to six days of police custody until May 4. Earlier, Sanade had already been granted four days of police custody.
Sanade was arrested on April 26 and produced before a court on April 27. Police have seized a mobile phone allegedly used in the crime and sent it for forensic examination.
Preliminary findings suggest a pattern in which the accused allegedly used social media to befriend young women aged 18 to 22, developed emotional relationships, and then sexually assaulted them. Police said objectionable videos were allegedly recorded and used for blackmail.
Investigators suspect multiple victims may have been targeted through this modus operandi. According to police, the victims were allegedly called to lodges in Shiroli and Kolhapur, where assaults were carried out and filmed.
Kolhapur police are also probing whether the case is linked to a larger organised network, as the pattern suggests systematic targeting of women.