Kolkata: Cops from the Kasba Police Stations have rescued a minor girl, who was allegedly taken to Malda and sexually and physically abused, by a man she got acquainted with on Instagram . The accused, Sheikh Imran alias Pappu, was arrested on Wednesday.
Imran reportedly told the girl he would come to Kolkata on Oct 25 and asked her to meet him. She said the abuse was recorded on a mobile phone and the accused threatened to share the videos on social media if she revealed their identity.
Police said Imran promised to marry her. That afternoon, the girl left home, saying she was going to meet a friend and she did not return, police said. CCTV footage near the girl’s home showed Imran forcing the girl into a car, police said. The girl later told police after being taken to Imran’s uncle’s house in Malda, she was repeatedly abused and kept there against her will. Public prosecutor Sajjad Ali Khan opposed his bail appeal and said the girl had suffered physical and sexual abuse and that police needed Imran’s custody for questioning.
The girl, who lives in Kasba, met Imran on Instagram about three months ago. They subsequently started speaking on phone and WhatsApp. As she did not return home till late at night and her phone remained switched off, her mother lodged a complaint at the Kasba PS. On checking the girl’s call records, they found her being in regular contact with one number and a social media account, through which, they identified Imran. The mobile tower data showed his location in Malda. Tracking CCTV footage, they found the two travelling from Dhakuria to Sealdah railway station, from where they boarded a train to north Bengal. When rescued, the girl had injuries on her body and visibly traumatised.
Based on this information, a police team raided a house in Malda on Wednesday and found the girl confined there. Imran was produced in the Alipore Court on Thursday.