UP Police SHO booked, suspended for obscene video call to woman

UP Police SHO booked, suspended for obscene video call to womanJune 8, 2023Pilibhit, June 8 (IANS) A Station House Officer (SHO), posted at Ghunghchai police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit, has been booked for making obscene gestures through a video call to a 35-year-old woman.The case was registered on the orders of SSP, Prabhakar Chaudhary, at Bareilly.As per the victim, the accused identified as Rajendra Singh, 45, video called her on Monday evening and got undressed before the mobile camera, and indulged in vulgar conversation and lewd gestures. Before that, he was in the police uniform. The cop also threatened to implicate her in a false criminal case if she disconnected the video call.An FIR in the matter was lodged at Baradari police station in Bareilly after the SSP, Prabhakar Chaudhary, took a prompt cognisance of a written complaint filed by the victim to him.Meanwhile, the SHO concerned has also been suspended by the superintendent of police at Pilibhit, Atul Sharma, with immediate effect.The victim further stated in her complaint that she is a widow and had two children and worked as a labourer.She saved the video clipping in question as evidence against the cop. One of her female colleagues told her that this cop had given obscene video calls to many other women as well, the victim said.She alleged that she first filed a written complaint in the matter at Baradari police station on Monday night but as the police did not take any action, she filed a fresh complaint to the SSP Bareilly who immediately ordered an FIR, she said.The SHO of Baradari police station, Abhishek Singh, said that the accused cop was booked under IPC section 354 (criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 506 (criminal intimidation) and section 67 (transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of Information Technology (IT) Act.–IANSamita/sha