Bhubaneswar: A Bihar native, who was arrested on Friday for allegedly raping and blackmailing a girl from Jagatsinghpur district, systematically targeted multiple young women using the same deception tactics to start intimate relationships, police said on Saturday after preliminary interrogation of the accused.
However, police said the number of girls he befriended through the gaming app and their identities will be ascertained after examination of the technical data from his phones. “Two mobile phones of the accused, Md Sameer Mansuri, have been sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) for retrieving data, pictures, videos and messages that will help us get further details pertaining to the case. If needed, we may bring Mansuri on remand for interrogation,” said DCP Pinak Mishra.
Police found that Mansuri, who did electrical repair and fitting works in Kashmir, used his first name, Sameer, to gain the trust of women. Officials identified him as Md Sameer Mansuri on the basis of his Aadhaar card, PAN card and driving licence.
Police have ruled out that Mansuri customised his first name to woo girls. “So far, it has been established that his real name is Sameer Mansuri. However, we are investigating all angles and developments pertaining to the case,” Mishra added.
Mansuri came in contact with the Jagatsinghpur girl through an online game in 2022. They became friends soon, but she began to avoid Mansuri after she learnt his surname.
Police have booked Mansuri on the basis of a complaint lodged by the girl at Mahila police station. They have registered a case under various sections of BNS for rape, extortion and intimidation.
Sources said that how Mansuri met the survivor in Puri, he might have met other girls in a similar fashion, earning their trust. The girl met him in Puri several times, and Mansuri had images of their intimate moments, which he used subsequently to blackmail her to marry him. “He wanted to take the girl to Kashmir,” said a police officer.
Police took Mansuri for medical examination and produced him in court, which rejected his bail plea, and remanded him to judicial custody. A medical examination of the girl was also conducted.
The lawyer who helped the girl said she had no inkling about the man’s intent, although initially, she thought she was in love with him. “It is being checked how Mansuri managed to access the girl’s mobile and managed to send objectionable pictures of her to many of her relatives to blackmail her when she refused to marry him,” a police officer said.