Tabloid owner accused of rape, trafficking held

BHOPAL/INDORE: Jitendra, alias Jitu Soni, 62, the owner of a tabloid accused of rape, blackmail, extortion, human trafficking and land grab, was arrested from Gujarat on Sunday after remaining on the run for seven months, the Madhya Pradesh police said.

Deputy inspector general Harinarayanchari Mishra said of the 64 criminal cases, Soni, an Indore resident, faces, 47 have been lodged over the last six months. He added a local court has remained Soni in police custody for interrogation.

Soni had been on the run since escaping during a police raid in December after Harbhajan Singh, an Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) engineer, filed a case against the tabloid owner for defaming him based on “unfounded conversation” and for trying to blackmail him.

The tabloid published a transcript of the engineer’s alleged conversation with certain women arrested on charges of luring, trapping, and blackmailing high-profile people in states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It also carried transcripts of purported conversations of two other high-profile people, including a former minister.

Indore inspector general Vivek Sharma said six police teams carried out raids at several places to track Soni over the last six months. He added Soni was eventually arrested from his ancestral Dhargni village in Gujarat’s Amreli district when he was about to change his location.

Sharma said Soni kept moving from one place to another in Maharashtra and Gujarat. “He has had a criminal history since 1991.” He added there was a Rs 1.50 lakh reward for information leading to his arrest.

Sharma said Soni has primarily been arrested in connection with the case filed against him in December. “So far, Soni’s son, Amit Soni, and brother, Mahendra Soni, have been arrested. His other brother Hukum Soni, son Vikki Soni, nephews, four other members of his family, and 25 other accomplices are yet to be arrested.”

IMC and police razed Soni’s two bungalows in Indore and removed illegal structures at his two hotels and a cafe in December as part of an anti-encroachment drive. The demolition began when police claimed to have rescued 67 women and several children from the hotel.

NEWDELHI: The Delhi Police have arrested a 30-year-old man from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur for allegedly duping political commentator Sanjaya Baru after promising online liquor delivery, officers aware of the matter said. Baru, who served as former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s media adviser, had ordered liquor worth ₹24,000 online. He approached the police after realising he had been conned.

The officers said the arrested man, Akib Javed, has duped many people using a similar modus operandi since the lockdown was imposed in late March, and liquor shops were closed.

Baru confirmed he was duped but said he did not want to comment further. The police said on June 2, Baru ordered the liquor after searching online and found what he believed was a south Delhi liquor store. “He placed the order over the phone and was assured on-time delivery after he made the payment online. But after he paid, the person who took his order switched off his phone,” said an officer on condition of anonymity.