Mumbai's Agripada Police arrested an accused for harassing a 19-year-old woman colleague who used to work as a telecaller in the same company. The victim alleged that the accused, identified as Ashraf Siddiqui, got her mobile number from a former workplace WhatsApp group and started sending obscene videos and photos.
"I was working there as a telecaller. I used to do calling work. We got to know each other there, but we never spoke to each other. He got my number through the group," the victim told the news agency IANS.
The 19-year-old victim alleged that Siddiqui insisted on her marriage and he promised her that he would never force her to leave the Hindu religion after marriage.
"After getting the number, he started sending me vulgar videos and photos... He only used to say that if he married me, he would never ask me to leave the Hindu religion or tell me not to wear a Kalava or go to temples," she narrated further.
The Agripada police have registered an FIR against the accused and arrested him and further investigation is underway. The police said that the victim resides with her family within the jurisdiction of Agripada Police Station.
The victim had worked as a telecaller at a construction company located in Mahalaxmi in February but left the job within 15 days after the site shut down. According to the police, on April 21, at around 11.15 am, she received a WhatsApp message and a missed voice call from an unknown number.
When she inquired about the sender's identity, the caller introduced himself as Ashraf and claimed to be her former colleague from the same company. He stated that he got her number from the company's WhatsApp group.
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According to the complaint, Ashraf allegedly forced her into a friendship and began sending messages. He also made explicit sexual demands. When the victim refused, he reportedly continued to harass her through repeated calls and messages.
Despite being ignored, the accused continued to send messages to her. He allegedly shared photos of other women, claiming he had sexual relations with them and sent several obscene videos and images to the victim.
Victim's father said, "For the last three days, she was being harassed, sending adult videos, making obscene remarks, repeatedly forcing her to go to a lodge... This is in Mahalaxmi Piramal. People were working there as telecallers. Ashraf Siddiqui is the boy who did all this. And Ashraf Siddiqui gave a very clear statement via WhatsApp: 'I have done all this with many Hindu girls.'" The victim's father alleged that the accused had influenced his daughter to come to him.
The victim informed her father and recorded the accused's call, and also took screen grabs of the entire conversation. Then the victim and her father lodge an FIR at Agripada Police Station. Based on the victim's complaint, the police have booked Ashraf under Sections 75, 78(2), and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act, and Section 67(A) of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
Resident Ravindra Dabolkar said, "The incident that happened here, similar to what happened a few days ago in Nashik in a TCS company, which we call 'corporate jihad' - people with a jihadist mindset are carrying out that conspiracy. After Nashik, this same incident has happened for the first time in Mumbai."