A serious case of alleged sexual exploitation of minor girls has come to light in Mumbai’s Samta Nagar area, where three accused have been arrested for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl, recording obscene videos of her and threatening to make them viral. Two other accused are still absconding.

The case involves a minor girl residing in the Hanuman Nagar area under the jurisdiction of Samta Nagar police station. According to preliminary information, the accused allegedly sexually exploited the girl by threatening to circulate her objectionable videos on social media.

During the investigation, police recovered more than 15 objectionable videos involving minor girls from the mobile phones seized from the accused. The recovery has raised concerns about the possibility of other girls being victimised and prompted police to widen the scope of their investigation.

Police are now examining the videos to establish the identities of the girls involved and determine whether more minors were subjected to similar exploitation. Investigators are also trying to ascertain whether the accused were operating as part of a larger network.

According to the preliminary investigation, the accused allegedly recorded objectionable videos of the 14-year-old girl and repeatedly threatened to make them public. They allegedly used these threats to continue exploiting the victim.

A total of five people have been identified in connection with the case. Of these, three have been arrested, while efforts are underway to trace and apprehend the remaining two accused.

The matter also triggered protests by Bajrang Dal activists, following which the Samta Nagar police initiated action.

Police registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and arrested three accused. Further investigation is underway to establish the full extent of the alleged exploitation and identify other possible victims.

The recovery of more than 15 objectionable videos from the accused’s mobile phones has added a serious dimension to the investigation.

The case has raised concerns over the safety of minor girls in Mumbai, with attention now focused on the police investigation, identification of other potential victims and the arrest of the two absconding accused.

A 71-year-old man from Pune was cheated of Rs 22 lakh by cyber fraudsters posing as senior Karnataka police officials and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers, who threatened him with digital arrest, police said on Thursday.

The incident took place between October 5 and 15. The complainant, Chandraram Balanna Kuttapelli (71), a resident of Alandi Road, received a call from an unidentified mobile number. The caller allegedly introduced himself as a senior police official from Karnataka and later posed as a CBI officer.

The accused told the elderly man that his SIM card had been misused in a child trafficking case. To make the allegations appear genuine, they asked him to transfer money as a security deposit, claiming that the amount would be digitally verified.

The fraudsters subsequently threatened the complainant with digital arrest and allegedly coerced him into transferring a total of Rs 22 lakh to bank accounts provided by them.

Following the complaint, Vishrantwadi police registered a case on November 11 under Sections 319(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act.

No arrests have been made in the case so far.

In a similar incident reported earlier on July 18, cyber fraudsters posing as CBI officials had threatened a 73-year-old Rahatani resident with prosecution in a money laundering case. They had forced him to transfer Rs 22 lakh to what they described as the ‘Supreme Court’s Secret Supervision Account’ for verification purposes. The fraud took place between June 29 and July 3.

The elderly man subsequently lodged a complaint with the cybercrime cell, following which Wakad police registered a case.

According to the complaint, an officer from Wakad police said the fraudsters contacted the victim while posing as IPS and CBI officers. They claimed that his Aadhaar card had been used to purchase a mobile phone and that a complaint had been filed against him.

A dispute over bursting firecrackers during Diwali turned violent in Mumbai’s Andheri East, where a group of eight to ten people launched a brutal attack on a husband, wife and their daughter.

The accused allegedly threw the woman to the ground and assaulted her with kicks, punches and sticks. When her husband intervened to rescue her, he was also severely beaten. The couple and their daughter sustained serious injuries in the attack.

Following the incident, the injured family members were rushed to Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari for treatment.

According to police, the incident took place in the Marol Krishna Nagar area of Andheri East. On the occasion of Diwali, a young girl from the Gupta family was bursting firecrackers in a vacant street when Badal Goswami and his associates objected to it.

The accused allegedly started abusing the Gupta family, following which an argument broke out between the two sides. The dispute soon escalated into violence, with Badal Goswami and his associates allegedly attacking the family.

According to the complaint, eight to ten men pinned the woman to the ground and brutally assaulted her with kicks, punches and sticks. Her husband, who rushed to her rescue, was also attacked by the group. Their daughter was also injured in the incident.

Following the incident, Mumbai’s MIDC Police registered a case against eight to ten people in connection with the attack.

Police have arrested four accused, including alleged gang leader Badal Goswami. The other arrested persons have been identified as Dharmendra Rajbhar, Jitendra Rajbhar and Shyam Narayan Gupta.

Police are conducting further investigations and efforts are underway to trace and arrest the remaining accused involved in the incident.

Separately, a bodyguard posted at Rashtrapati Bhavan was allegedly shot in the head by a neighbour after an argument over bursting firecrackers turned violent in Uttar Pradesh on Diwali night. He had returned home on leave to celebrate the festival with his family.