A 19-year-old man, Ayan Ahmed Tanveer Ahmed and one of his accomplices were arrested from Amravati in Maharashtra for allegedly exploiting over a hundred minor girls and recording sexual abuse material.
Police arrested the man after a complaint was registered by BJP MP Anil Bonde.
The Amravati Rural police have now launched an investigation into what is being called a major cyber enabled sexual abuse case involving minors. The accused has also been remanded to police custody till April 21. Authorities have also taken a bulldozer action against the residence of the accused.
The case came to light after a sexually explicit video of the man with six different minor girls went viral on social media. Ahmed is being accused of luring young girls through WhatsApp and Snapchat chats, promising them relationships. He would then take the victims to Mumbai and Pune. Investigators say that he filmed the obscene videos without the consent of the girls.
The case has caused public outrage with bandhs being observed in Achalput and Paratwada in the Amravati district.
He also allegedly used the videos to blackmail the victims and threaten them into prostitution.
Police have uncovered over 350 such videos with around 100 video being found on social media. They are also suspecting that the accused targeted over 180 girls. Eight have been identified and the investigators are working to trace their families.
Authorities have seized the accused's mobile phone and other gadgets. Officials believe that key evidence may have been deleted by the accused and are working on recovering the data with the help of cyber experts.
The accused also confessed that he had been involved in the crime for the past year. The names of seven of the victims were exposed publicly according to reports. Police are now trying to identify the victims.
There have also been allegations that the case was linked to All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, led by Asaduddin Owaisi. Some BJP leaders claimed the accused had connections with the party, while a local AIMIM representative said he is no longer associated with it.
