Three persons have been sent in police remand for seven days after protests erupted over allegations that a woman student at the Chandigarh University had leaked objectionable videos of her hostel mates, ANI reported.
The protests, that started on Saturday night at the private institution in Punjab’s Mohali, ended on Monday morning after the district administration and police assured students of a fair and transparent investigation into the allegations.
The three arrested persons were produced in a Mohali court on Monday afternoon. After they were sent in police remand, Sandeep Sharma, the advocate of an accused girl told reporters that a boy was blackmailing his client.
He added that the phones of the three accused persons will be sent for forensic examination. Two videos – one of the accused girl and one of some other girl – were found on the phones, the lawyer said, according to ANI.
However, Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Vivek Sheel Soni had said on Sunday that the woman had shared only her own videos with a friend and that the authorities did not find clips of other students on her phone.
The university administration also said that a claim that 60 objectionable videos have been found is false and baseless. The police also debunked the rumours – which had circulated on Saturday night – that some students attempted suicide.
The female student was arrested and charged under Indian Penal Code Section 354C (voyeurism) and Section 66E (punishment for violation of privacy) of the Information Technology Act.
On Sunday evening, the Himachal Pradesh Police arrested her friend from Shimla, where he works at a travel agency, NDTV reported.
“We have apprehended the said accused in the case,” Director General of Police Sanjay Kundu told The Indian Express. “The person will be handed over to Punjab Police since they will be overlooking the investigation.”
A third accused person was detained in Shimla after a request from the Punjab Police. According to The Indian Express, he had called the accused woman student while she was being questioned by the Chandigarh University warden about the alleged videos.
The student had claimed that she did not recognise his number and that he had sent her a screenshot of a picture that she had earlier shared with her friend who works at the travel agency.
Meanwhile, Assistant Director General of Police Gurpreet Deo told PTI that the officers met 50-60 students who live on the same floor as the accused.
“Most of them have joined a new session and do not know each other,” she said. “The students needed clarification on whether the accused’s phone had videos of other girls. Prima facie, we did not come across any such videos.”
SIT constituted
The Punjab Police on Monday said that it has formed an all-women special investigation team of three members to probe the alleged leak of videos at the university’s hostel.
Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said that the team will be led by senior officer Gurpreet Kaur Deo.
“Investigations are going on at full pace,” Deo said, according to PTI. “The team will thoroughly probe the case and no person involved will be spared,” he said.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!