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The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Wednesday formed a probe committee to investigate the multiple cases of alleged rape, filming and blackmailing of college girls after befriending them with ‘fake identities’ in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal.
According to the police, at least five survivors have come forward for far and lodged complaints at different police stations in the city, while four men have been arrested who allegedly used “fake identities” to befriend the women through social media or mutual friends.
The Bhopal police had earlier formed a special investigation team (SIT) which is currently probing the cases.
The NCW’s three-member panel will be headed by retired IPS officer and former Jharkhand DGP Nirmal Kaur, and will submit a report to the Commission after visiting Bhopal from May 3 to 5.
“Commission chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar took suo moto action on the incident and directed the concerned officials to take immediate action, but considering the seriousness of the facts related to the incident, the chairperson has constituted a three-member committee to investigate the matter. This committee will visit Bhopal from May 3 to May 5, 2025 and after gathering information about the case, will submit a detailed report to the Commission,” the NCW said in a statement.
Speaking to The Hindu, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Bhopal Zone 2, Sanjay Agrawal said that the SIT has identified six accused so far in the case, of which four have been arrested, including the prime accused Farhan Ali. The other three arrested accused have been identified as Sahil, Saad, and Sayyed Ali, who was arrested on Monday, while two men — Abrar and Nabeel — are currently at large.
Mr. Agrawal said that five survivors, including the two sisters who had lodged a complaint at Bhopal’s Bag Sewania police station on April 18, have come forward so far.
“Multiple teams are conducting raids to nab the remaining two accused. At present, we believe that these six men had been running this group,” he said, adding that the police are also trying to trace more survivors, if there are any.
While various local reports claimed that the survivors were also forced to convert to Islam, Mr. Agrawal said, “There are different kinds of allegations by different women. Some girls have said that they were forced but we cannot confirm this at the moment and is part of the ongoing investigation.”
Another senior officer, who is part of the SIT, said that private videos and pictures of various women have been found on the mobile phones seized from the accused.
“We were able to reach one of the survivors through digital evidence only. The accused used to share the videos amongst one another,” the officer said, requesting anonymity.
The officer said that the one of the sisters who lodged the first complaint had met Farhan through social media in 2022.
“The girl was studying in a private college at the time and Farhan had studied there earlier. After befriending her, he recorded her private videos and used them to blackmail her into introducing her sister and friends to his friends. Similar pattern has been noticed in the cases that have come to our attention so far,” the officer said, adding that the police are also probing if the accused have any further links.
“The women have alleged rapes at various locations over the years. Some of them, including the first complainant, have also alleged physical assault. It’s a complicated case and we are still following some new leads,” the officer added.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also sought a report from Bhopal Police Commissioner H. C. Mishra.
Earlier on Monday, three of the accused were also heckled by a group of lawyers when they were taken to a court after their arrests.
Before their appearance, the accused were also paraded on the road and made to do squats.
Published – May 01, 2025 04:23 am IST
