Youth blackmailing girl with morphed photos held

AHMEDABAD: Gomtipur police on Tuesday arrested the nephew of a former BJP MLA for allegedly blackmailing a girl with her photos morphed for the purpose. The girl had lodged an FIR against the youth on March 2.
According to an official of Gomtipur police station, Sachin Rathod, an 18-year-old college student, was arrested from his home on Tuesday night.Sachin is the nephew of Jitu Vaghela, former BJP MLA from Shaherkotada. He has been named as an accused in a complaint filed by a 17-year-old girl of the same area, the police said.
The girl had lodged a complaint against Sachin and one of his friends, the police said. In her complaint, she had alleged that Sachin had clicked her photo when she was attending a friend's wedding a couple of months ago. The accused had then morphed the photograph and kept a copy in his mobile phone. He had then started blackmailing her and had also allegedly called and threatened her, the police said.
"He was trying to browbeat her into submission and wanted to establish an intimate relationship with her," said M D Patel, sub-inspector of Gomtipur police station.
"We registered the girl's complaint and, after conducting proper investigation, arrested Sachin from his home. He is the nephew of former MLA from Shaherkotda, Jitu Vaghela," Patel said.
"Sachin had a morphed photo of the girl in his mobile phone. He used to call her and threaten her frequently. He wanted to chat with her and got overtly friendly. The girl was frightened and depressed after this and had also tried to commit suicide by consuming a mosquito repellant liquid. She had been admitted to LG Hospital after this attempt. This act of hers brought the matter to light and her parents then gave her the courage to file a complaint against the accused. We are also looking for Sachin's friend who has also been named as an accused in the complaint," said Patel.