A 26-year-old woman has accused a man she befriended through an online gaming platform of sexually harassing her, morphing
her photographs and threatening to circulate the edited images on social media to defame her.
Following the woman’s complaint, police have registered an FIR against the accused, identified as Taran Kumar, a resident of Gill Khambran village in Jalandhar.
The case has been registered under provisions of the Information Technology Act and
the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections related to sexual harassment, criminal intimidation, snatching and attempt to commit an offence.
According to the complaint, the woman became acquainted with the accused while playing an online multiplayer game and the two later developed a friendship. She alleged that Taran Kumar subsequently travelled to Ludhiana to meet her and behaved inappropriately during their first meeting while she was seated in his car. The accused also allegedly clicked her photographs without her consent.
The woman further alleged that the accused later downloaded her pictures from social media and digitally altered them by morphing them with photographs of another man. He then allegedly threatened to circulate the morphed images on social networking platforms, using the threat to pressure her into meeting him again.
During the subsequent meeting, the accused allegedly touched her inappropriately once again. When she tried to raise an alarm, he allegedly snatched her mobile phone and a gold bracelet before fleeing from the spot, the complaint stated.
Fearing misuse of the morphed photographs, the woman approached the police and lodged a complaint. Inspector Kulwant Kaur, who is investigating the case, said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
Two relatives arrested for raping 13-year-old girl
The Division Number 7 police have arrested two men for allegedly gang-raping a 13-year-old girl multiple times over the last three months.
The accused, identified as Anoop and Shinda, are relatives of the victim.
According to the police, the duo had been assaulting the teenager and threatening her into silence.
The FIR was registered based on a complaint filed by the victim’s mother.
The complainant told police that her daughter had been slipping into depression and isolating herself over the past few days. Suspecting foul play, the mother counselled the girl, who then narrated her ordeal.
The victim alleged that the accused initially targeted her on the pretext of sending her to a shop to fetch daily essentials. Later, they allegedly took her to isolated spots across the city and gang-raped her multiple times.
Sub-inspector Charanjit Singh, the investigating officer, said a case has been registered under Section 70(2) (gang rape of a minor) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 4 (penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
“Both the accused are migrant labourers and reside in the same locality. They are neighbours of the victim,” the investigating officersaid.
