Two former students of an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal have been arrested for allegedly filming an obscene video of a student in the college and blackmailing her, police said on Saturday.
The accused, identified as Ayan (24) and Khusboo Thakur (25), have been booked under Section 383 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act, a senior police officer said, adding that a third accused, Rahul Yadav, is absconding.
“A 19-year-old girl went missing from her house on Friday. After her parents lodged a complaint, the police traced her at Bhopal railway station a few hours later,” said additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) Rajesh Bhadoriya.
In her statement to the police, the girl informed that on September 17, there was a cultural programme in the college on the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti, the senior officer said. “She was changing her clothes in a washroom where Khushboo shot her obscene video,” Bhadoriya added.
“The girl said three students showed the video to her boyfriend and demanded ₹10,000 and also threatened to circulate it on social media,” said ADCP. “The girl’s parents worked in the ITI and fearing their public insult, she decided to run away.”
{{/usCountry}}“The girl said three students showed the video to her boyfriend and demanded ₹10,000 and also threatened to circulate it on social media,” said ADCP. “The girl’s parents worked in the ITI and fearing their public insult, she decided to run away.”
{{/usCountry}}Based on her statement, a first information report (FIR) was registered at the Ashoka Garden police station on Friday.
While two accused have been arrested, one is absconding, said the officer, adding they are investigating if the accused targeted any other girl from the college as well.
Several students at the college, meanwhile, have alleged that the accused used to spend most of their time at the institute and harass students.
The incident comes barely a week after a similar case saw massive protests at a private university in Punjab’s Mohali district. A female student has been arrested for allegedly circulating objectionable video of several girl hostellers.