MAN HELD FOR BLACKMAILING WOMAN

HT, DARJEELING: A 21-year-old college dropout was arrested in Darjeeling and sent to judicial custody for cyber crime which involved blackmailing a girl and posting lewd videos of her on social networking sites.

Nikhil Jimba was arrested from Bhutia Bustee in Darjeeling. Charged under sections 493 (cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage), 376 (rape), 385(extortion) of the IPC along with Sections 66E, 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act and Section 20 of the Telegraph Act. Jimba was produced at the chief judicial magistrate court in Darjeeling. “The CJM rejected his bail prayer and sentenced him to judicial custody. The next date of hearing has been fixed as June 19,” said Pankaj Prasad, assistant public prosecutor, Darjeeling.

Jimba had chanced upon the victim on a social network site. The 22-year-old girl hails from the outskirts of Darjeeling town. The two used to chat regularly on a social network site. Soon the friendship turned into a relation.

In December 2013 Jimba asked the girl to accompany him to Shrubbery Nightingale Park. Assuring that he would marry her in March he forced himself on the victim. He even video recorded it. Soon he started blackmailing the victim asking her for money or else threatened her that he would post the video on different social network sites. When the girl refused to give him money, he actually posted the video on a site.

Seeing no other way out the victim confided the matter to her family members. They in turn lodged an FIR at the Darjeeling Sadar Police Station. The police acted accordingly and arrested Jimba from his residence.

“The video camera, the pen drive and the mobile phone containing the clip has been seized by the police” added Prasad.