INDIA. Mumbai: The Punjab police on Saturday arrested the Army Man Sanjeev Singh from Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh (AP) in connection with the recent circulation of objectionable videos of girl students on the Chandigarh University campus.
The Army officials confirmed the arrest and said that the Indian Army practices zero tolerance of such acts and will continue to provide all assistance for the early conclusion of the investigation.
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said Sanjeev Singh was nabbed from Arunachal Pradesh. He has been brought on two days transit remand granted by Chief Judicial Magistrate Bomdilla Sessions Court, Tawang District, Arunachal Pradesh, for production before the Mohali court.
“Crucial breakthrough in the #ChandigarhUniversity case with the assistance of the #Army, #Assam & #Arunachal Pradesh Police. Accused Army personnel Sanjeev Singh was arrested from Sela Pass, Arunachal Pradesh. Transit remand obtained from Chief Judicial Magistrate Bomdilla, for production before Mohali court,” the DGP said in a tweet.
The incident
On September 18, a massive protest erupted in Chandigarh University when it came to light that a hosteller girl was alleged to have recorded videos of female students of the university while they were bathing, and the videos were being circulated.
The Punjab police initially said that only one video had surfaced and that it was of the accused woman, who shared it with a friend. The next day the police said in the Mohali court that another video, though not of an objectionable nature, of another girl in the hostel washroom was found on the phone of one of the men arrested in the case.
The arrests
A case under sections Section 354-C (voyeurism) of the IPC and section 66(A) of the Information Technology Act was registered at the Sadar Kharar police station on September 18.
The accused girl, a 23-year-old man, and his 31-year-old friend (all from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh) and Armyman Sanjeev Kumar are under arrest. The first three accused, who were remanded to police custody for seven days, will be produced in court on Monday. A worker working in the hostel mess was taken into custody on suspicion and has been allowed to go.
Blackmail
The accused, Sanjeev Singh, hailed from Jammu and was posted in Arunachal Pradesh. He is alleged to be the person calling and sending messages to the suspect girl to click more photos and videos. Additionally, the Chandigarh University student’s cell phone contained pictures of WhatsApp conversations with one of the accused, which may indicate that she was being blackmailed for the recordings.
As of now, Sanjeev Singh is the main suspect. His phones and other devices have been seized and will be sent for forensic analysis. He has been arrested based on the forensic analysis of the seized phones, the police said.
SIT
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by SP (Counter Intelligence) Ludhiana Rupinder Kaur Bhatti, DSP Kharar-1 Rupinder Kaur, and DSP AGTF Deepika Singh, has been conducting speedy investigations in the case. “The guilty in this case will not be spared, and justice will prevail,” Punjab DGP added.
The Punjab Police’s ongoing probe into a sensitive case, the Indian Army claimed, has shown that a serving army man is believed to have engaged in actions that are punishable by the IPC and IT Act.
All possible assistance was extended to Punjab and Arunachal Pradesh immediately on receipt of information from the Police authorities to arrest the soldier and hand over his custody for further investigations, the Army said.
After a protest, silence has returned to the campus since the local administration and the university agreed to investigate the demand of the students over objectionable videos of several girl students that were recorded by a hosteller and shared with her friend.
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