PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Lalkuan
Acting tough on an attempted religious conversion case, Nainital police have arrested a man accused of molesting a minor, pressuring her to convert and blackmailing her by creating pornographic videos using AI technology.
Taking cognizance of the complaint, the senior superintendent of police, Nainital, Manjunath TC, directed the police to take strict action. According to the police, the victim filed a complaint at Kotwali Lalkuan on April 29, stating that the accused had contacted her through a fake Instagram ID about two months ago. During the conversation, the accused allegedly obtained personal information and her phone number and then continued to contact her.
The accused allegedly molested the minor, pressured her to convert to Islam and threatened to create an obscene video using AI and circulate it on social media if she resisted, police said, adding that the victim was a minor at the time of the incident, making the matter look even more serious.
Acting swiftly, the police registered a case at Lalkuan police station under sections 78/79 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and 7/8 of the POCSO Act. During the investigation, certain sections of the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2022, were also added.
A police team was formed under the direction of SP City Haldwani, Manoj Katyal and under the supervision of the circle officer, Amit Saini to nab the accused. With the help of surveillance and other technical means, the accused was arrested on Friday in the Lalkuan area.
He has been identified as Ibrahim (27), a resident of Sarkara village, Bajpur police station, Udham Singh Nagar district. He is being produced in court, police said.
