Rajkot: Dhoraji sessions court on Thursday convicted a constable and a journalist for blackmailing people visiting sex workers by making their videos.
Sessions judge H A Dave sentenced constable Chandrakant Bharti and journalist Dushyant Bhatt to four years in prison and also fined them Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.
According to case details, in March 2014, the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) Rajkot, received a number of complaints that the duo was blackmailing them using videos.
Bharti and Bhatt used to keep watch on places from where illegal sex workers were operating in Khatodar area of Dhoraji town of Rajkot.
Bhatt used to record videos of men who visited these places and Bharti would blackmail them for not registering case against them.
After ACB received complaints, the agency set up a trap and nabbed the duo red handed on March 20, 2014. When nabbed constable Bharti was on duty at Kanya Vidyalaya. Bharti has demanded Rs 20,000 from the complainant but later the deal was finalized for Rs 10,000. When the duo came to receive the payment from complainant they were arrested.
Additional public prosecutor Kartikey Parekh said, “The court observed that the duty of constable was to take action against illegal brothels and he committed crime by not doing his duty. He convicted them under the Prevention of Corruption Act.”