A 20-year-old college student from Gujarat’s Banaskantha district tolerated a prolonged ordeal of repeated sexual assaults spanning over 16 months, allegedly perpetrated by seven men. The horrifying series of events began when one of the accused, Vishal Chaudhary, befriended the victim on Instagram after she started attending college in Palanpur in 2023. In November of that year, Chaudhary invited her to breakfast at a hotel, where he deliberately spilled food on her dress and took her to a room under the pretense of cleaning it.
How the Incident Took Place
While the victim was in the bathroom, Chaudhary allegedly filmed her in a vulnerable state and threatened to release the video on social media. He used this video to blackmail her, coercing her into having sexual relations with him and his friends on multiple occasions between November 2023 and February 2025. The victim bravely approached the police, and an FIR was filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including repeated rape and criminal intimidation, as well as Section 67 of the Information Technology Act for the transmission of obscene material.
The victim’s family initially attempted to resolve the issue through a community panchayat after a relative discovered the video. However, when no resolution was reached, they turned to the authorities, and the police have since launched efforts to arrest the remaining accused.
Another Rape Case Came to Light, British Woman Raped in Delhi
In another case, a British woman visiting Delhi was allegedly gang-raped by two men at a hotel in the Mahipalpur area. One of the accused, Kailash, had befriended the victim on Instagram. The woman, who had invited Kailash to meet her in Delhi, was reportedly molested by a hotel staff member and later raped by Kailash and his accomplice, Wasim. After the woman resisted Kailash’s advances, he called Wasim into the room to calm her down. The Delhi Police arrested both men and informed the British High Commission about the case.
These disturbing incidents underscore the dangers posed by social media and the urgent need for stronger safeguards to protect individuals from online predators.
