Daijiworld Media Network - Nagpur

Nagpur, Aug 5: A 20-year-old man from Thane has been arrested for allegedly abducting, confining and sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl, the daughter of a senior government official, in Nagpur. Police rescued the victim from a rented flat in Hudkeshwar after tracing the accused through mobile location and cyber surveillance.

The accused has been identified as Nirbhay alias Akash Madhav Pakhare (20), a resident of Hiranandani Estate, Patilpada, Ghodbunder Road, Thane. Police said he is a BBA student and that his mother is a well-known doctor in Thane.

According to investigators, the accused created a fake Instagram account under the name "Akash Mehra" last year and befriended the Class 12 student. He allegedly manipulated her into sending objectionable photographs and later threatened to circulate them online. Using the threat, he allegedly coerced and exploited the girl after travelling to Nagpur.

Police said the accused recently rented a room in Snehanagar, Dighori, through an online platform. He arrived in Nagpur on Saturday and called the girl to meet him on Sunday. The girl reportedly left home around 9 am after telling her family she was going to visit a friend.

Investigators alleged that the accused took her to the rented room, tied her hands and legs, inflicted injuries with a knife and sexually assaulted her.

When the girl did not return home, her family approached the Hudkeshwar police, who registered a kidnapping case and launched a search. Under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police Rashmita Rao and Assistant Commissioner of Police Narendra Hivare, Senior Police Inspector Anamika Mirzapore and her team examined the victim's social media accounts and tracked the suspect using mobile location data.

Nagpur police also alerted their counterparts in Thane, who asked the accused's mother to call him. Cyber experts traced his location to Dighori after the call connected.

Police said the accused allegedly forced the girl to call her parents and falsely tell them that she was safe after suspecting police were closing in. The call further helped investigators narrow down his location.

The police then followed an online food delivery executive carrying an order to the flat in Hudkeshwar. Officers broke open the door and found the girl injured, with her hands and legs tied to the bed. She was rescued immediately, and the accused was arrested from the spot.

A court has remanded the accused to two days of police custody. The investigation is continuing.