Five booked for posting obscene pictures of two minor girls online

Police on Thursday booked five youths after families of two minor Dalit girls held a protest outside the Qila Lal Singh police station here alleging inaction against accused for posting obscene pictures of the girls on social media.

In their complaint to the police a few days back, the girls, who are also cousins, had alleged that five youths were allegedly posting morphed pictures of them on WhatsApp and Facebook . Residents of Shampura village, the sisters said they asked the accused to stop circulating their morphed pictures, but the accused didn’t pay heed to their request. The victim said they approached the Qila Lal Singh police station and lodged a complaint against the accused, identified as Akash, Suleyman, Puna, Raju and Rahul. “Instead of taking action, SHO Rachpal Singh asked us to strike a compromise,” alleged kin of the victims.

“They threatened us of registering a fake case against my brother. The police then took him to the police station and kept him in illegal custody. But, when we threatened to hold a protest, the police released him”, the sisters claimed. Speaking to HT, one of the victims said, “Today (Thursday) morning, the accused barged into our house and threatened us. When we resisted, they tore off my clothes. We had to flee.” The victims said they went to Qila Lal Singh police station, but said since police refused to take action, they held a protest. The dharna continued for two hours and traffic remained suspended on the Batala-Dera Baba Nanak road.

Despite repeated attempts, SHO Rachpal Singh refused to comment. Batala SSP Deepak Hilori has said a case under section 354 (sexual harassment), 506 (criminal intimidation), 148 (rioting), 149 of the IPC has been registered.