By Our Staff Reporter
Srinagar, 6 Nov: The Pauri district police have arrested an accused for clicking allegedly obscene pictures of a local girl and making them viral on social media. The victim belongs to Paithani area of Pauri district. The accused is a barber by profession and created and uploaded the video on social media. When the video went viral, the girl ran away from her home due to fear of embarrassment and defamation. Fortunately, the police have also been able to trace the girl and bring her back safely. Such cases are now recurring on a regular basis in the hills and resulting in a widespread public anguish.
It may be recalled that, yesterday, the girl’s brother-in-law had lodged a report about the disappearance of his sister-in-law at Paithani police station, stating that she had left the house in the morning without informing anyone and had not returned by evening. Paithani Police immediately registered a case and began their investigation.
Due to the seriousness of the matter, SSP, Pauri, Lokeshwar Singh immediately ordered an intensive search operation for the girl. The police team acted quickly and located the girl in Kotdwar through surveillance.
During questioning, the girl disclosed that Shahnawaz Mirza, who works as a barber, had made her obscene videos viral on Facebook. She was terrified and fearing huge embarrassment, had run away from home.
SSP Lokeshwar Singh shared that a case has been registered against Shahnawaz Mirza at Paithani police station under FIR No 11/2024, Section 140 (3)/77 BNS and 67 IT Act. As soon as the police case was registered, the accused fled from Paithani. After investigating the CCTV footage, the police alerted all the police stations. The accused youth was caught by Kotdwar police in their area and he was brought to Paithani.
After this incident, anger is visible among the traders in Paithani market. This morning, the traders gathered in the market and protested against this incident and unitedly demanded that the police take action on verification of those operating in the market. The traders and Hindu organisations also announced that no outsider would be allowed to stay there permanently. The girl and the accused have been brought here from Kotdwar.
The accused, Shahnawaz Mirza, son of Dilshad, resident of Tanda Maydas, Police Station Nagina, Najibabad (UP), has been arrested from Bijnor. Further action is being taken in the case.
Meanwhile, Hindu organisations and local people were outraged about the matter. After this incident, anger was seen among the traders in Paithani market. The traders gathered in the market in protest and unitedly demanded that the Muslims vacate their shops and the police take action on verification. The traders and Hindu organisations also announced that no outsider would be allowed to stay there permanently. People took to the streets in protest, and traders kept all shops closed in the market. To ensure the situation does not deteriorate, the police have been deployed. The SSP has appealed to the public to maintain peace and order.
