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Female artist sexual exploitation & blackmail case: Karnataka Police arrest accused

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Bengaluru, May 23: The Karnataka Police have arrested the accused actor in connection with the alleged sexual exploitation and blackmail of a female artist in Bengaluru on Friday.

The accused is identified as Madenuru Manu, a resident of Nagarabhavi in Bengaluru.

The Annapurneshwari Nagar Police have arrested Manu and will produce him before the court.

The police have taken the accused for the medical test.

During the preliminary investigation, Manu admitted that he knew the victim. However, he denied all charges against him, claiming that it was a conspiracy.

The Karnataka Police have lodged an FIR in connection with the alleged sexual exploitation and blackmail of a female artist over a private video after the 33-year-old victim filed the complaint.

The accused is said to have been selected as the lead actor in an upcoming Kannada movie, and police are currently investigating the matter.

The FIR has been registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 64(2) (rape), Section 69 (sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means), Section 89 (causing miscarriage without the woman’s consent), Section 318(4) (cheating), Section 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and Section 352 (intentional insult).

According to the complainant, she met the accused during the shoot of the Kannada television programme ‘Comedy Kiladi’ in 2018, after which they became friends. She stated that the accused had arranged a rented house in Nagarabhavi.

On November 29, 2022, the victim accompanied the accused and other comedy artists to a programme in Shikaripura, Shivamogga district.

After the performance, while she was in a hotel room in Shikaripura, the accused allegedly entered the room under the pretext of paying her remuneration and sexually assaulted her, the FIR said.

Later, on December 3, 2022, the accused reportedly came to her residence and forcefully tied a mangalsutra around her neck against her will. Following this, he allegedly continued to sexually assault her at the same residence.

The victim stated that she became pregnant during this period. Upon learning of the pregnancy, the accused allegedly gave her pills to induce an abortion. She became pregnant again later, and he once again forced her to undergo an abortion, according to the FIR.

The accused then rented another house for the victim, where he continued to sexually assault her. He is also accused of recording her private videos on his phone, physically assaulting her, and threatening her not to reveal the incidents to anyone.

Claiming to be the lead actor in an upcoming film, the accused allegedly took several lakhs of rupees from the victim. She has stated that he pretended to marry her while subjecting her to repeated assaults, forced abortions, and threats to her life. When she confronted him, the accused reportedly assaulted and threatened her again.

The victim has also alleged that the accused, Manu, is a married man.

Crime

Man arrested in Delhi for trying to reactivate Baba Siddique’s mobile phone number

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CRIME

Mumbai, July 7: Mumbai Police have arrested a man from Delhi for allegedly attempting to fraudulently take control of a mobile number belonging to late NCP leader Baba Siddique, which is linked to his family’s businesses.

The accused, identified as Vivek Sabrawal, was apprehended in the Burari area of Delhi and brought to Mumbai for further investigation.

According to officials, Sabrawal tried to reactivate Siddique’s phone number on a new SIM card with the intention of using it for cyber fraud. Police said the accused has a history of cybercrime, with prior cases registered against him.

He was out on bail in one such matter when he attempted this latest fraudulent act.

A case has been registered under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including provisions related to cheating, attempted offences, forgery, fabrication of records, and using forged electronic documents as genuine.

Authorities suspect that Sabrawal aimed to misuse the number for financial or digital scams.

The matter came to light after Siddique’s daughter, Arshiya Siddique, filed an FIR at Bandra Police Station in Mumbai. She reported that an unknown individual had fraudulently attempted to become the “authorised signatory” for her late father’s mobile number, which remains active and is associated with the family’s business interests, including Zears Business India LLP and a food venture she runs under the name Flavour Food Venture.

Police said the fraudster had created a fake email ID in the name of Shahzeen Siddique, Baba Siddique’s wife, and used it to contact Vodafone to enquire about the status of the authorised signatory on the mobile number.

In a more disturbing development, the individual accessed Shahzeen Siddique’s personal documents — including Aadhaar, PAN card, GST details, and the company’s letterhead — to support the fraudulent request.

Using these forged details, the accused submitted a request to Vodafone to update the signatory, listing fake identities such as Michael Sharma, Tarun Kumar, Avinash Arora, and Sumit Sharma.

On June 25, Vodafone responded to the request by CC’ing Shahzeen Siddique’s real email ID, which immediately alerted the family that an unauthorised application had been made using forged credentials.

Alarmed by the development, the Siddique family approached the police. While Sabrawal has been arrested for his involvement in the SIM card reactivation attempt, investigations are ongoing to determine whether there are additional suspects involved in the attempted fraud.

The complainant has urged Mumbai Police to trace the origin of the fake email ID and analyse the call data records (CDR) associated with the number listed in the request, citing fears of a possible connection with individuals involved in Baba Siddique’s sudden demise.

Mumbai Police have said further action will follow based on electronic and forensic analysis of the digital evidence, and more arrests may be made if links to a broader conspiracy are established.

Baba Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister, was shot dead in the Bandra area of Mumbai on October 12, 2024.

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Crime

Awami League slams Yunus administration for rising rape incidents in Bangladesh

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CRIME

Dhaka, July 7: In a span of nine days, 24 women, including an infant, were raped in Muhammad Yunus-led Bangladesh, according to the Awami League, which added that over 281,000 complaints have piled up and are still “unresolved.”

“In just 9 days, 24 women were raped. Among them, a child was raped by a 60-year-old man. These numbers are horrifying, but each number hides a lifetime of pain and trauma,” said the Awami League on Sunday.

According to the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s party, “Rapists aren’t strangers — they’re police officers, teachers, politicians, and many roam free, protected by silence and a broken system.”

“Under Yunus’s illegal rule, Bangladesh is no longer a safe place for women. Every day, women are raped while the state stays silent. When survivors seek justice, they’re humiliated again — by police questions, invasive medical exams, courtroom cruelty, and society’s blaming gaze. In court, survivors are shamed for their clothes and character. Cases drag on for years. Social media adds more wounds, as victims’ images spread while rapists remain anonymous,” the Awami League stated.

“Laws alone won’t save us. We need a social revolution. Women must rise, confront, and demand justice. Men must stand with them. Silence is complicity. As long as leaders like Muhammad Yunus remain in power, nothing will change,” it added.

Calling a Bangladeshi woman’s body “a battlefield,” the party said, “Until the state takes responsibility, this bleeding won’t stop. We must challenge the state — or women will never be safe.”

Recently, the Awami League revealed the statistics mentioned that only in June, 63 incidents of rapes were reported, including 17 gang rapes, seven survivors were women/girls with disabilities, while 19 children and 23 teenage girls were raped.

Additionally, 39 cases of sexual harassment and 51 physical assaults on women were reported.

“These aren’t just statistics. They are devastating proof that women and girls in Bangladesh live in constant fear,” said the party.

Last week, addressing a press briefing in Dhaka, Sharmeen S. Murshid, Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Advisor of Bangladesh under the interim government, described the rising incidents of violence against women and children in the country as a “pandemic-level crisis.”

The advisor revealed that over the past 10–11 months, 281,000 complaints have been received by the ministry’s toll-free hotline.

“Violence is being committed in families, workplaces, public spaces, and online. Despite Section 14 of the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act and the High Court’s directives, victims’ photos are still being published in the media,” Bangladesh’s leading daily, The Dhaka Tribune, quoted the Advisor as saying.

“Though I am a human rights activist, I now support the death penalty for these criminals. The level of violence has exceeded our tolerance,” Sharmeen added.

Bangladesh has been gripped by protest movements, a deteriorating law and order situation and an increasing number of incidents of violence against women since the ouster of Hasina in August 2024, when the Yunus-led administration took the helm.

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Crime

NIA nabs 2 human traffickers from Delhi, HP for role in sending over 100 youths to US via ‘donkey route’

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New Delhi, July 5: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday arrested two human traffickers from different locations in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. The duo, accused of sending more than 100 youths to the United States using the notorious ‘donkey route’ were nabbed after extensive searches.

The accused were identified as Sunny Donker, a resident of Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) and Shubham Sandhal, a resident of Punjab who was currently residing in the national Capital.

Both are said to be associates of Gagandeep Singh alias Goldy, arrested earlier in March.

Gagandeep was arrested over a victim’s complaint who was illegally trafficked to the US using the infamous ‘donkey route’ and was deported back to India in February, this year.

Goldy, a resident of Tilak Nagar in Delhi, was subsequently chargesheeted by the NIA.

As per the findings of the law enforcement agency, Gagandeep Singh used to take around Rs 45 lakh from each victim on the pretext of sending them to US on a valid visa.

He would then illegally send them on an arduous journey via multiple countries, including Spain, El-Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico.

He had sent more than 100 victims illegally to the US, in this manner before being arrested.

Sunny was the main associate of Gagandeep Singh and played a key role in facilitating the journey of the victims on the ‘donkey route’.

Also, the victims were physically and mentally harassed on the way by agents to extract more money.

Shubham Sandhal operated as key hawala conduit, who transferred funds to agents in Latin America. Gagandeep used him to transfer part of the money taken from the victims to the agents based in Latin America.

The NIA, took over the case from Punjab Police in March this year. As the investigation proceeds, it continues to unravel dark secrets of the human trafficking racket.

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