Police in Bhopal have arrested two people on charges of rape, blackmail, and threatening, and also under the Freedom of Religion Act, on the complaint filed by three Hindu girls in different police stations of the city.

The police have also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident, as it is suspected that it might involve a gang operating a sex racket through the rape, obscene videos and blackmailing of Hindu girls.

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As per sources, another absconding accused is from Kolkata, and a police team from Bhopal has been sent there in search of him.

According to Bhopal Commissioner of Police, Harinarayan Chari Mishra, the three victims have lodged cases in the Ashoka Garden police station, Bagh Sevaniya Police Station, and Jehangirabad police station of the state capital.

Farhan Ali aka Faraz and Ali Khan have been arrested recently and, an SIT of police has been formed and directed to investigate the racket and get to the bottom of it.

Efforts are on to arrest the third absconding accused, whose name is said to be Sahil Khan.

The Commissioner said that the trio has been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the MP Freedom of Religion Act, and other relevant sections.

All three complainants and the accused were students in a private engineering college in Bhopal till a couple of years ago.

According to police, the accused men used to introduce themselves as Hindus, and on that pretext they befriended and allegedly raped Hindu girls.

The three men are also accused of recording obscene videos and then blackmailing the victims by threatening to make the videos viral.

Further police investigations are on, and sources say that the number of victims and the accused is also likely to increase in the course of the investigation.