Trio trying to exploit rape survivor’s ordeal arrested

Rajkot: Amreli police on Tuesday arrested three persons, who tried to exploit the plight of a rape survivor, to blackmail and extort huge sum of money from her tormentors – the three sadhus – who were arrested for the crime.
On Monday, the Damnagar police had arrested Raghuram Bhagat, Jagdish Bhagat and Bhavesh Bhagat, who had allegedly raped the woman several times in the last 18 months.
However, it has now come to light that five persons including two women, tried to use the woman’s ordeal to extort Rs 45 lakh from the sadhus in lieu of convincing the survivor not to lodge a complaint.
On Tuesday, Damnagar police arrested Pravin Rathod, Jignesh Manwar and Ramesh Maru, after the sadhus revealed that the trio were blackmailing them to shell out Rs 45 lakh. Two women – Labhu Muchhadiya and Meena – are also involved in the extortion bid.
Investigating officer VL Parmar told TOI: Before lodging the complaint, the rape survivor had approached Meena and narrated her ordeal. Meena introduced her to others and assured all help. When Pravin asked the woman if she had any evidence, she gave them a video of the rape allegedly shot by the accused.”
Pravin and others then started blackmailing the sadhus. “They made calls to the sadhus between June 12 and June 22. Meanwhile, the survivor herself approached police and the sadhus were arrested,” said Parmar.
However, the rape survivor is not involved in extortion, Parmar said. Accused Rathod has been running an unregistered organization called Bahujan Tiger Sena.