A 26-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly sexually exploiting a teenage girl in his locality. The accused is also alleged to have blackmailed the victim into staying silent by recording a video of the act and threatening to upload it on the internet.
“The victim, who had been silent for fear of defamation, found out that the accused had put up the video on Facebook and decided to break her silence. She first approached the Ambarnath police on Tuesday, and the case was transferred to us, as the offence occurred in our jurisdiction,” said Assistant Police Inspector Arun Padhar, Hill Line police station.
The police then recorded a statement of the victim. She told the police that the accused, Afzal Malik (26), was known to her, and in April this year, he lured her into Kondeshwar temple at Bhojgaon in Ambarnath. He allegedly took her to a spot behind the temple and forced himself on her. He also forced her indulge in unnatural sex with him. During this time, he recorded a video of the act, and threatened to upload it online if she told anyone about the incident.
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Malik was arrested by the police on Wednesday. He was charged with rape, unnatural sex and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code, and with sexual assault on a minor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. Steps to stop the video from being further circulated on social media have also been initiated. Malik was produced in court and has been remanded in police custody till June 6, the police said.