Gujarat: College student raped by 7 persons for 16 months after being blackmailed over nude video
Palanpur, Mar 12 (PTI): A college student from Gujarat’s Banaskantha district was allegedly repeatedly raped by seven persons for nearly 16 months after being blackmailed with her nude video, police said Wednesday.
One of the six accused befriended the 20-year-old woman over Instagram months after she started attending a college in Palanpur in 2023.
In November 2023, he persuaded her to join him for breakfast at a hotel. He deliberately spilled food on her dress and took her to a room on the pretext of cleaning it, as per the FIR.
Police said when the student removed her clothes in the bathroom, the accused, identified as Vishal Chaudhary, barged inside and filmed her.
When she protested, he threatened to make the video public and post it on Instagram, said the first information report (FIR), which was registered on Monday.
Using the same clip, he forced the student to have physical relations with him and his friends at different places on different occasions between November 2023 and February 2025, stated the FIR.
After the woman approached the Palanpur taluka police, a case was registered against six identified and an unknown person under sections concerning repeated rape and criminal intimidation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The accused have also been booked under section 67 of the Information Technology Act concerning the publication or transmission of obscene material in electronic form.
Efforts are being made to nab the accused persons, said an official from Palanpur taluka police station.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
