Pharmacist Arrested for Allegedly Sexually Assaulting Women, Distributing Child Pornography
Davanagere: A pharmacist in Davanagere, Karnataka, has been arrested on charges of sexual assault, child pornography, and voyeurism. The accused, who operates a pharmacy in Channagiri town, is alleged to have sexually assaulted multiple women, including a minor, and subsequently recorded and disseminated the resulting explicit videos through social media platforms.
Police investigations revealed that Amjad Shafi had more than 60 sexually explicit videos on his phone, including child pornography. He is accused of luring women to his pharmacy under the pretext of assistance and subsequently assaulting them.
"He also secretly filmed women without their consent, including those visiting his shop, bathing, and traveling on buses," a police source stated.
As per various media reports, the case came to light when a police officer received a sexually explicit video in a WhatsApp group. This led to an investigation that uncovered Shafi's alleged crimes and eventually the accused was arrested.
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Following his arrest, Shafi was produced in court and remanded to judicial custody for 15 days. He faces charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the Information Technology Act, reports Indian Express.
Davanagere Superintendent of Police Uma Prashanth warned against the distribution of such content. "Downloading or storing child pornography is a punishable offense. We will take stern action against anyone who shares these obscene videos," Uma told TOI.
News18 reports that some of the explicit videos recorded by the man went viral on social media after which the police warned that “no one should share these obscene videos. Strict legal action will be taken against those who do".
Police sources added that Shafi had been indulging in these acts for over 10 years.
