Pune: ‘YouTube Journalists’ Booked For Luring & Sexually Assaulting Woman In Baramati; Victim Shares Her Experience | VIDEO

Pune: Two reporters of a YouTube channel named ‘Mi Marathi Kranti News’ who were pretending to be legitimate journalists have been booked by Pune Police for allegedly luring a woman and sexually assaulting her. They took her to a lodge under the pretext of conducting a sting operation in the Baramati Tehsil of Pune District and then sexually assaulted her in the lodge. Shockingly, the duo filmed the act with a mobile phone.

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The incident took place on 10th October in the jurisdiction of Baramati Taluka Police Station, which comes under the Pune Rural Police Force. Regarding the matter, a case has now been registered on Sunday at the Baramati Taluka Police Station.

Baramati Taluka Police have booked the accused for rape, criminal intimidation, and atrocity under the relevant sections of BNS and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989.

The accused have been identified as Sheikh Azhar Kadri (resident of Kondhwa) and Omkar Rajendra Shelar (resident of Bhigwan, Indapur Tehsil). Soon after the FIR was lodged, both accused went into hiding, and a search for them is ongoing.

According to the complaint filed by a 35-year-old woman, Omkar Shelar pretended to work as a representative of the ‘Mi Marathi Kranti News’ YouTube Channel in the Indapur-Bhigwan area, while Sheikh Azhar Kadri told her he was the editor of the channel.

On 3rd October, at around 8 pm, the complainant was at home when Omkar Shelar came to meet her, informing her that Sheikh Azhar Kadri had some work with her. Kadri was waiting outside in a car. The duo then took the woman to Hotel Anand in Bhigwan, where they also called a man named Firoz Pathan. After dinner, they told the complainant that they were planning a sting operation in the area. Later, they sent Pathan away.

The trio then travelled via the Bhigwan-Baramati road to the VIP Lodge located in the MIDC area. There, they told her the sting operation had to be done in the wee hours, and she needed to stay.

Around 10:30 pm, they entered a room. Omkar Shelar went into the bathroom while Sheikh Azhar Kadri threatened the woman, claiming he had links with big criminal gangs in Pune and could easily make her ‘disappear.’ “No one will ask about the incident or about your whereabouts,” the accused threatened.

Later, the accused, Kadri, forcibly removed her clothes and sexually assaulted her. Meanwhile, Shelar filmed the incident on his mobile phone from the bathroom.

After Kadri sexually assaulted the woman, Shelar handed his mobile phone to Kadri and also assaulted her.