Mystery man may take sting off sex scandal

The police have traced a second man whose statement can turn last week’s case of the television sting on Uma Khurana on its head, report Ravi Bajpai and Abhishek Bhalla.

The police have traced a second man whose statement can turn last week’s case of the television sting on Uma Khurana on its head, said an officer involved in the investigation.

HT Image

The man, the police officer said, is a business associate of Virendra Arora, who was arrested on Sunday for allegedly supplying the girl who posed as a prostitute in the sting.

Khurana was beaten up by a mob at the government-run Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya and subsequently arrested for immoral trafficking after Live India channel aired the sting showing her soliciting for her students. Khurana, a math teacher, was also dismissed from service.

The police said Khurana owed money to Arora that had led to strained relations between the two. “During interrogation, the second man has revealed important leads that are giving a twist to the case,” said a senior officer. The man is not involved in the racket. “He is definitely not an accused in the case,” the officer added.

The police are thinking of using him as a witness. Further details about the man were not available. Editor and CEO, Live India, Sudhir Chaudhary, however, stood by the story. “It’s all about a government schoolteacher forcing girls into prostitution and the focus should not be on the victim,” he said.