JAIPUR: Four to five minor girls have been sexually exploited in Vijay Nagar town in Rajasthan’s Beawar district, according to sources.
According to the local police, a group of miscreants trapped and blackmailed girls from a private school, subjecting them to rape and allegedly even tried to force them into conversion.
The Beawar police have arrested seven culprits and detained two other offenders who are themselves minors in this sordid case.
Family members of the victims complained to the police and shared details that a gang was behind this heinous racket.
The criminals targeted a girl by assaulting and blackmailing her and coerced her into befriending other schoolgirls and systematically entrapping multiple victims.
The minor girls were lured through gifts of Chinese mobile phones and were even forced to make their underage friends chat with the offenders who would sexually exploit them.
The victims on Monday revealed that the culprits, all labourers and belonging to one community, had taken obscene photos and videos of the girls and were blackmailing them.
The victims have also alleged that the criminals were even pressurising them to recite Kalma, keep Rozas or fasts, and adopt Islam.
The case in the Vijay Nagar police station area has sparked public outrage with angry residents surrounding the local police station, demanding strong and swift action. As people gheraoed the police station, demanding the arrest of the accused, additional cops were summoned from four nearby police stations.
The situation in the town remains tense as public anger is mounting.
The accused have been identified as Rihan Mohammad (20), Sohail Mansuri (19), Shoaib (20), Arman Pathan (19), and Sahil Qureshi (19) who are all from Vijaynagar and close by areas. Two juvenile offenders have also been detained by the local police.
The incident has triggered a political storm, drawing comparisons to a similar case in Ajmer 33 years ago, where schoolgirls were victimized through vulgar pictures and then subjected to rape and blackmail.
Authorities are under pressure to act decisively as investigations unfold.