In the latest development in the case, the police located a residential property, which was the epicentre of all the criminal activities of the accused Mohammad Ayan (alias Tanveer) and his associate Ujer Khan. As per reports, a nondescript flat located on the third floor of a residential building in the Katora Naka area, in Maharashtra’s Amravati, was used as a base by the accused to engage in criminal acts with their victims and record obscene videos.
The residents of the buildings where the flat was located grew suspicious after they noticed young boys and girls frequently visiting the house at odd hours. The girls visiting the flat often covered their faces, which made it difficult for the residents to identify them.
The residents conveyed their suspicions to the house owner, but she did not take any action. After the entire sexual exploitation scandal, which was being operated from the flat, came to light, the suspicions of the residents were proved to be true. The residents suspect that since the owner of the flat failed to take any action despite repeated complaints, she might also have been involved.
Accused specifically targeted Hindu girls, created chat groups with Urdu names
Several prominent coaching centres and hotels have come under the scanner during the investigation of the case. The police are examining the CCTV footage of various coaching centres and hotels in Amaravati as part of the investigation.
The accused reportedly got admission into major coaching centres like Aakash Institute and Future Hunt in Amravati to get in touch with a minor girl studying there. They established contact with these girls during cultural events organised by these coaching centres. They befriended the victims and created chat groups, including the victims, on platforms like Snapchat and Telegram, where groups were created. These chat groups had Urdu names and contained Islamic-themed content. In these groups, the accused told the victims how Islam was superior to their religion and pushed them to convert.
After gaining the trust of these girls, they took them to cafes and hotels, and eventually engaged with them in sexual activities and recorded their videos. These videos were then used by the accused to extort money from the victims. The victims who failed to pay the money were further pushed into sexual exploitation.
As per the details that emerged in the investigation, the accused particularly targeted girls belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Matang, and Christian communities. Some of the pictures circulated by the accused show the victim wearing a hijab. It is yet to be ascertained if these girls were Muslims or if the accused made the Hindu or Christian girls wear a hijab. The accused targeted hundreds of minor girls and recorded over 180 videos featuring them.
Financial trail of the accused under investigation
Five mobile phones have been seized from four accused and have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination. The police are examining the financial transactions of the accused to find out how they funded the coaching centre fee, as well as their lavish lifestyles.
Rajya Sabha member Dr Anil Bonde has demanded a deeper investigation into the case to examine the involvement of narcotics and international porn sites. Dr Bonde pointed out that some of the students admitted to these coaching institutes did not even fulfil the eligibility criteria, and yet they managed to get admission. “Some students entered coaching classes for NEET and JEE without proper eligibility or preparation. Even the coaching class operators failed to verify these admissions. The CCTV footage from coaching centres and certain hotels needs to be reviewed,” Dr Bonde said.
He further said that the investigation should also focus on tracing the financial trail in the case, as the accused involved in the case could not have financed coaching fees and their flashy lifestyle from the income of their families. “The youth involved cannot have financed all expenses like college fees, coaching classes, cars, and clothes from family income, given their financial background. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the bank accounts of all minors involved and their financial background. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the bank accounts of all minors involved, their relatives’ bank accounts, and also the accounts of some team members, to trace where the money involved is coming from,” he added.
Accused Ayan’s AIMIM links and the ‘Barood Gang’
Mohammad Ayan, who is said to be the mastermind of the case, reportedly had links with Asaduddin Owaisi’s party, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). Ayan handled a local social media page of the party. He was also reportedly linked to a local criminal syndicate called the ‘Barood Gang’. The gang is actively involved in illegal sand mining and beef trading.
It is alleged that money from the gang was being used by Ayan and his associates to fund their criminal activities. In return for the money, Ayan and his associates supplied girls to the members of the gang. These were the girls who failed to pay the extortion money and were sexually exploited by the gang members. The girls were told that their obscene videos would only be deleted if they agreed to engage in sexual activities with individuals chosen by the accused. These allegations are also being investigated by the police. The police are also investigating whether a larger network was involved in the recording and circulation of these obscene videos.
Police action so far
Police have, so far, arrested eight individuals in connection with the case. Amravati (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vishal Anand said that the investigation into the case commenced after some of the videos emerged online on 11th April. The videos were circulated by Ayan’s friend Ujer Khan online after the two had a dispute over finances. The probe into the videos led the police to the accused Ayan, who was arrested on 13th April. He was produced before the magistrate and remanded to custody till 21st April.
Apart from 5 mobile phones, the police have seized a laptop, a tablet and a hard disk from the accused, which have been sent for examination.
