Cybercrime racket
Children's court rejects
bail plea of accused
PANAJI
Goa Children's Court has rejected the bail application of 36 year-old Chandrahas Rane of Kalmamal in Borim-Ponda, who was arrested on September 22 by the cybercrime police for blackmailing budding female models, including minor girls, and forcing them to send their revealing photos to him online.
Taking into consideration the seriousness of the offence, the Court has ordered 14 days judicial custody for the accused.
After his arrest, Rane was booked under Section 67 of IT Act and Section 8 (2) of Goa Children's Act and was previously remanded to seven days police custody.
Rane is accused of projecting himself as a woman running an online modelling agency on Facebook to lure budding female models. He would then send Facebook request from this fake profile and befriend minor and young girls and once the friendship developed, offer them a career in modelling promising around Rs 45,000. He would then ask these girls to send their pictures and later, he began asking them to send their semi-naked and naked photographs in various poses.
The accused would then ask for their Facebook password for their authentication and take over the account. He would then change their password and would begin blackmailing the victim into sending more naked pictures, failing which he would threaten to upload on the public domain the pictures already with him.
It is found that the accused has obtained naked pictures of around ten young and minor girls.
The matter came to light only when a mother of a girl from Mapusa area filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime Police.
Around 125 pictures of the complainant's minor daughter were found with Rane.
The investigation has been handed over by the cybercrime police to Crime Branch inspector Vishwesh Karpe.
