Commissioner’s directive leads to FIR in exploitation and extortion case

Belagavi: Acting on the directives of city police commissioner Bhushan Borase, Shahapur police on Sunday night registered an FIR in a case involving serious allegations of sexual exploitation, extortion and criminal intimidation, based on a complaint filed by a 25-year-old woman from Belagavi.The FIR was registered only after the complainant approached the police commissioner, alleging that Shahapur police earlier refused to act on her complaint submitted on March 29. Following the intervention, a case has been booked against six persons, including the prime accused Ishwarsingh Badagujar, 32, his mother and four others, for their alleged involvement in the crime.According to the FIR, the complainant and the main accused acquainted through social media. The woman alleged that the accused sexually assaulted her for the first time on March 1, 2019, inside his car. Subsequently, under the pretext of marriage, he continued a physical relationship with her over several years.The complaint further states that the accused extorted nearly Rs 19 lakh in cash and more than 160g of gold from her during this period in a phased manner. He also allegedly seized her mobile phone and threatened to circulate her private photographs on social media if she did not comply with his demands.When the woman insisted on marriage, the accused reportedly demanded Rs 3 crore. The FIR also includes allegations of physical assault and continued intimidation.Police have registered the case under relevant sections, including 376(2)(n), 417, 384, 323, 427, 201, 504, 506 and 149 of the IPC, along with Section 66(E) of the IT Act, 2000.In her petition submitted to the police commissioner, the complainant also accused Shahapur police personnel of attempting to pressure her into settling the matter. She alleged that officials discouraged her from pursuing legal action and warned that she would not receive justice if she persisted.Additionally, she claimed that an individual approached her within the police station premises and offered Rs 3 lakh to settle the case, raising serious concerns about alleged interference and misconduct at the police level.