Minor NEET aspirant held hostage, raped for over six months in Kanpur; 2 teachers arrested
Kanpur (UP), Nov 9: A minor student from Fatehpur who moved here to prepare for her medical entrance exam NEET at a prominent coaching institute was allegedly held hostage for over six months and raped by two of its teachers, police said on Saturday.
They said the ordeal began for the student in December 2022, when she was putting up at a city hostel. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Kalyanpur) Abhishek Pandey said the case was registered on Friday after she approached the Kalyanpur police station.
Both teachers -- Sahil Siddiqui, who taught biology, and Vikas Porwal, who taught chemistry -- have been arrested and charged with offences of rape, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation and under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act. The student was 17 years old when this happened.
In her complaint, the survivor told police that in December 2022, Siddiqui invited her to his friend's flat in Kalyanpur's Makdi-Khera area for a New Year's party, saying other students would be there as well.
She alleged that when she reached the flat, she found only Siddiqui there who drugged her by lacing her soft drink with sedatives and raped her while also recording the episode on video.
According to the complaint, Siddiqui allegedly held her hostage in his flat for over six months, during which he repeatedly raped her and also threatened to share the video online if she spoke to anyone about it.
The student alleged that Porwal raped her a few months after this.
She said in the FIR that she could not muster the courage to seek police help as she was afraid that it might land her family in danger.
Six months later, the girl's mother arrived in Kanpur and took her along.
Initially, the girl was hesitant to approach the police but she made up her mind to take the step when she came across a video showing Siddiqui sexually harassing a coaching student.
The case was registered against the two teachers under Indian Penal Code sections 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence), 376(2)(n) (commits rape repeatedly on the same woman), 344 (wrongful confinement for 10 or more days) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and the POCSO Act, an official said.
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BharatPe fraud case: Delhi HC quashes lookout circular against Ashneer Grover, wife
New Delhi, Nov 12: The Delhi High Court has ordered cancellation of a lookout circular (LOC) issued against Ashneer Grover, the former MD of payment app BharatPe, and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, noting that the FIR lodged against them over allegations of cheating and forgery has already been quashed.
Justice Sanjeev Narula passed the order on Monday after the court was informed that another bench of the high court quashed the FIR on the same day.
The FIR was quashed by Justice Chandra Dhari Singh after considering a plea moved by the Grovers stating that they have arrived at a settlement with the fintech company.
In his order, Justice Narula said, "Although the copy of the order (quashing the FIR) is not available as of now, the aforenoted fact is not disputed by the counsel for the parties.
"In light of the fact that the underlying FIR has been quashed, the LOC issued by respondent No. 3 (Bureau of Immigration), in the opinion of the court, will not survive."
The LOC was issued by the Bureau of Immigration at the instance of Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in view of the investigation against the Grovers in the cheating and forgery FIR.
The court was hearing a plea moved by Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover seeking quashing of the LOC issued against them in connection with the investigation into the cheating and forgery case.
"Accordingly, the present petitions are disposed of with a direction to the respondents to cancel the LOC against the petitioners in their records," the court noted.
Earlier, the Grovers claimed that they were informed about the LOC for the first time when they were detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on November 16, 2023, while they were scheduled to travel to the US.
After being detained, they were informed that the LOC was operational from November 6, 2023.
In May last year, the EOW filed an FIR against Grover, his wife Madhuri, and others under eight sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 467 and 468 (forgery), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) for an alleged Rs 81 crore fraud after a complaint was lodged by BhartPe, the fintech unicorn.
In its complaint, BharatPe alleged that Grover and his family caused damages to the tune of Rs 81.3 crore through illegitimate payments to bogus human resource consultants, inflated and undue payments through pass-through vendors connected to the accused, sham transactions in input tax credit and payment of penalty to GST authorities, illegal payment to travel agencies, forged invoices by Madhuri, and destruction of evidence.
Madhuri was the head of controls at BharatPe before she was fired in 2022 after a forensic audit revealed several irregularities.
Subsequently, Grover resigned as the chief executive officer of the fintech firm in March 2022.
