INDIA. Nagpur. While the Hathras rape incident has stirred the country, another case of a 22-year-old Nepali girl at Chinhat in Lucknow has surfaced. The offense has been registered against two men in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
The victim had come to New Delhi from Nepal sometime in 2018. Initially, she worked with an event management company in Noida and then moved to Surat to begin working as a receptionist in 2019.
An ominous friendship begins
In Surat, she became acquainted with Sufi Vishwakarma (29), who was originally from Nepal. As their friendship grew, Sufi told her that his friend, Pravin Jaipal Yadav (25), was well settled in Dubai. Sufi arranged a video call with Pravin and introduced them. Subsequently, they remained in touch by phone. One day Pravin proposed to marry her.
In January of this year, Sufi told the victim that Pravin had come from Dubai to visit and took her on a trip to Lucknow. After reaching Lucknow, she handed over Rs.1.50 lakh and two mobile phones to Sufi for safekeeping.
However, a lockdown was soon enforced. The victim was left with no money or means of survival. At this point, she demanded her money back from Sufi. He refused and began harassing the victim.
Money troubles take a dark turn
Meanwhile, the victim got in touch with Pravin and explained her situation. He offered to put her up in a nearby hotel. Being in a desperate spot, she agreed.
Pravin and Sufi began visiting the victim at the hotel regularly and raped her several times. They also filmed the act and began blackmailing her. At one point, Pravin reportedly told the victim that the Uttar Pradesh Police cannot do anything to even if a complaint is registered.
When the victim communicated her plight to a local policeman, he advised her to compromise and keep her mouth shut. The victim then called a friend in Koradi, Nagpur, who organized a private cab to help her escape. After reaching her friend, the victim registered a complaint with the Koradi Police. In turn, they registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Pravin and Sufi.
The victim then returned to Lucknow under police escort and forwarded all relevant paperwork to the Chinhat Police station.
Police involvement and criminal charges
In an interview with Transcontinental Times, Police Inspector Vajeer Shaikh said that the victim approached them on 3 Oct. and the FIR was registered the next day. The victim was sent to Lucknow to enable police to carry out a panchanama and record the statements of the accused and witnesses.
The charges made against the accused are under sections 342,354,376,390,406,420, and 500 of the Indian Penal Code. They are also under sections 67, which stipulates stringent punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form, and 67(A) of the Information Technology Act of 2000.
