Chandigarh, August 23: A school bus driver has been arrested for allegedly raping a Class 12 girl after blackmailing her with her morphed photographs, police said on Friday. According to the police, the accused, Mohd Razaq (26), stalked the minor girl for some time and then approached her for friendship, which the victim refused.

Later, he morphed her photographs and started blackmailing her, threatening to post those pictures on social media if she did not comply with his demands, the police said. The accused raped the girl on three instances between May and July at her home while her parents were away, they said. Chandigarh Horror: 9-Year-Old Boy Kidnapped And Sodomised In Dhanas; Accused Arrested.

The police said that the crime came to light when the girl eventually confided in her parents after they noticed she was distressed. A police complaint was subsequently lodged and the accused was arrested on Wednesday, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Jaspinder Singh said. Chandigarh Horror: Rape Convict Sexually Assaults 15-Year-Old Girl In Mani Majra, Arrested.

Razaq has been charged with rape, criminal intimidation and other charges under relevant provisions of the law, including the POCSO Act, Singh said.

Further investigations are ongoing, he added.

Women and Child Helpline Numbers:

Childline India – 1098; Missing Child and Women – 1094; Women’s Helpline – 181; National Commission for Women Helpline – 112; National Commission for Women Helpline Against Violence – 7827170170; Police Women and Senior Citizen Helpline – 1091/1291.