Rushiraj Pawar (30), the son of MLA Ashok Pawar of the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) from Shirur constituency, has alleged he was kidnapped by a group of men and forced to film an obscene video with an unidentified woman.
Rushiraj lodged an FIR in the case at Shirur police station on Saturday evening. Police have booked four people, including one Bhau Kolpe of Mandavgan Farata village in Shirur, along with two men and a woman, as per (BNS) Sections 140(3), 308(4), 115(2), 351(2), 351(3), 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
According to the FIR, around 1.40pm on Saturday, the accused persons, including Kolpe and his two accomplices, asked Rushiraj to come with them for a meeting with some youngsters who wanted to enter the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar). Rushiraj stated in the FIR that the accused then took him on their motorcycles. They allegedly confined him to a bungalow and forecefully removed his clothes.
According to police, the accused called the woman to the bungalow. They forced Rushiraj to do obscene acts with the woman and recorded a video of the incident, states the FIR.
The accused allegedly said they were offered Rs 10 crores for making the video viral on social media and demanded the same sum of money from Rushiraj to not circulate the video online. Meanwhile, on the pretext of arranging the money, Rushiraj came out the bungalow and fled the spot. Later, he contacted police and lodged an FIR against the accused.
Inspector Sandesh Kenjale of Shirur police station said the three accused have been detained and further investigation is underway. Police said probe so far revealed there was no political angle and it appeared to be a crime allegedly committed for the purpose of extorting money from the MLA’s son.
Meanwhile, during a press conference held by advocate Asim Sarode, Rushiraj spoke to the media about the incident via video call and also showed the video that the accused had filmed forcibly.
Rushiraj’s father Ashok Pawar is the NCP (SP) candidate from Shirur constituency for the upcoming Mahrashtra Assembly elections. Rushiraj alleged that accused Bhau Kolpe participated in the election campaign and never thought he would commit such a crime.
MLA Ashok Pawar condemned the incident and demanded that the police find out the masterminds behind the crime. Advocate Sarode said, “It is suspected that the accused have forwarded the objectionable video to someone. Proper investigation should be done and all culprits should be held.”
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