Kanpur: FIR against officer for sexually exploiting IIT research scholar

KANPUR: Another FIR has been registered against the Proivincial Police Services (PPS) officer Mohammad Mohsin Khan, accused of sexually exploiting an IIT research scholar, for criminal intimidation and defaming her, said police on Wednesday. IIT-Kanpur’s PhD student alleged that the then Assistant CP (collectorganj) Khan threatened her of serious consequences and made objectionable posts with intent to defame her by levelling fake charges.

Assistant CP (Kalyanpur) Abhishek Pandey said one more FIR has been lodged against Khan, a 2013 batch PPS officer, and advocate Gaurav Dixit under relevant sections of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita and the Information Technology (IT) Act at Kalyanpur police station on Tuesday. The then ACP and the lawyer would be called for questioning if the need arise, Pandey added.

The ACP and his lawyer allegedly made a tweet and shared objectionable posts on social media platforms with intent to defame her.

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The IIT-Kanpur rape survivor has met senior officials, including Commissioner of Police, Akhil Kumar, who instructed the Kalyanpur police to lodge another FIR against the PPS officer and his advocate. She alleged Khan and his advocate levelled fake charge against her that she attempted to kill an infant. She further accused Mohsin and his advocate of misguiding the court and claiming she was already married, while she was never married.

IIT scholar claims officer exploited her under false pretence of marriage

The victim stood firmly on her claims that Khan sexually exploited her under false pretence of marrying her. A five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Additional DCP (Traffic) Archana Singh was constituted to probe the matter, police said. The IIT-K scholar met the SIT members and provided them with the chat history allegedly showing that the ACP had made "indecent and lewd" remarks.

Khan was transferred to police headquarters on December 12 after being booked for allegedly seeking "sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means”.

According to police, Khan had enrolled at IIT-Kanpur five months ago to pursue a PhD in cybercrime and criminology. While studying at the institute, he reportedly developed a relationship with the research scholar and promised to marry her after divorcing his wife. But later when the officer refused to fulfil his promise, the woman filed a complaint of rape.

IIT-Kanpur Director Manindra Agrawal had said in a statement, "As is well known now, a girl student of IIT-K has accused a police officer of sexual exploitation and filed a complaint. The institute is committed to provide all the necessary support to the student at this difficult time."