Amravati Rural Police have made four more arrests in sensational sexual exploitation case of Paratwada. With this, the total number of arrested accused in the case of uploading obscene photos and videos of girls on social media, has reached 8. However, none of the victims or their family members have so far come forward to lodge a complaint, informed Vishal Anand, Superintendent of Police, while talking to mediapersons here on Thursday. The last four accused to be arrested have been identified as Aifaz Khan Manjur Khan (26), Mohammad Imran Mohammad Sajid (21) and Sheikh Naved Sheikh Hasan (21), all residents of Achalpur, and Manav Deepak Sugandhe (21), who is native of Arvi and is currently staying in Kathora area of Amravati. All were presented before Achalpur Court where they have been remanded to Police Custody till April 23.

 

Informing about the role of the four accused in the crime, SP Anand said that Sugandhe provided his flat in Kathora on rent on an hourly basis to Ayan and it was used for the sexual exploitation of the victims. Meanwhile, the three other accused circulated the obscene videos and photos on social media, he informed. The SP said that police first noticed the photos and videos on the phone of a boy from Paratwada on April 11. “As novictims came forward to file a complaint, police initiated action on their own and registered an FIR. The main accused, Ayan Ahmed Tanveer Ahmed (19) of Paratwada, was arrested on April 13 under Section 294 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Sections 8 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and Sections 67 and 67(A) of the Information Technology Act. He has been remanded to police custody till April 21,” he said.“During investigation, police found that Ayan had forwarded the obscene videos and photos to his friend Ujer Khan Iqbal Khan (20) of Paratwada. Ujer then shared the material with Mohammad Saad Mohammad Sabir (22) of Achalpur.

 

The probe further revealed that Tabrez Khan Taslim Khan (24), Aifaz Khan Manjur Khan (26), Mohammad Imran Mohammad Sajid (21) and Sheikh Naved Sheikh Hasan (21), all residents of Achalpur, were also involved in circulating the clips and photos on social media. All of them have been arrested,” said SP Anand.Now, police are also investigating if the original owner of the flat also ahd a part to play in the case. Meabnwhile, mobile phones of the accused have been seized and five phones have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis and recovery of deleted data. Police also conducted house searches of all accused and seized a laptop, a tablet and a hard disc from the house of accused Aifaz Khan, which will be sent to FSL for analysis, informed SP Anand. Amravati Rural Police has appealed victims to come forward and record their grievances.

 

If any victim or family member feels uncomfortable visiting the police station, designated police officers in civil clothes would meet them at a convenient place to register statements, he said. Police have assured that the identity of victims and their family members will be kept completely confidential, the SP added. Police have also urged anyone with credible information related to the case to share it with them, adding that the informant’s name will be kept secret. Don’t politicise: Kulkarni to Cong Even as the Paratwada sexual exploitation case grabs headlines, BJP’s Spokesperson, Shivrai Kulkarni held a press conference at Mumbai on Thursday and urged political parties to refrain from politicising the matter and instead, work towards securing justice for the victims.

 

After an old video of six policemen found celebrating birthday with main accused Ayan circulating on social media, Vishal Anand ordered Dr Shubham Kumar, Sub-divisional Officer at Achalpur to make thorough inquiry of it. He said that total six police personnel, including 3 from the birthday celebration video, have been attached to Police Headquarter.