Man arrested for repeatedly raping, blackmailing student

A former judo instructor has been arrested for repeatedly raping and blackmailing an ex-student he met before her marriage in West Delhi’s Pashchim Vihar area, said the police on Sunday.

Twenty-three-year-old Aftab Siddiqui’s perceived ties with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sparked a political storm, with the Opposition BJP claiming a minister in the Arvind Kejriwal Cabinet was trying to pressure the police to prevent his arrest. The minister denied the allegation.

“The accused has been booked under Sections 376 (rape), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison or drug with intent to commit an offence), 385 (putting a person in fear of injury to commit extortion) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and relevant sections of the IT Act,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (South-West) Depender Pathak.

The police said Siddiqui met the victim around two years ago when he used to teach judo at a park in Pashchim Vihar and she was one of his pupils there.

After class one day, Siddiqui invited her to his residence, where he offered her a drink laced with sedatives and then raped her, the victim told the police.

Siddiqui is said to have also filmed the act, and then raped her several times by blackmailing her with the video.

He reportedly continued blackmailing and sexually assaulted the woman even after she got married around six months ago.

Things took a turn for the worse when the video got leaked around a week ago.
The woman then approached the police and reported the matter.

Her statement was recorded on Friday evening and the accused was later summoned for questioning. He was soon arrested, said Pathak.

The police have recovered the video with which Siddiqui reportedly blackmailed the woman.

However, they are yet to ascertain the number of people who got its copies and if any of them uploaded it on the Internet, said the officer.

The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Vijendra Gupta, said Siddiqui has close ties with Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain and AAP spokesperson Ashutosh.

The locals also know him as an active leader who organised several cultural programmes and community meetings in the area for the ruling party, said a police official.