Schoolgirl raped by 7 men in Bareilly, threatened with explicit video

She was on her way to school to collect her mark sheet. She never got there. A 16-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh's Bhojipura area was allegedly intercepted on the morning of April 2 by one of her attackers, who threatened to release a video of an earlier sexual assault if she did not accompany him. She did. At the Saifi Cafe, she was allegedly raped by seven men .

The abuse had begun nearly two weeks earlier. On March 19 , a man identified as Asad Haider, alias Karan , had taken the minor to a room above the cafe, sexually assaulted her, and filmed the act . He warned her that the footage would be posted on social media if she told anyone. She stayed silent.

That silence became the weapon used against her a second time.

After the April 2 assault, the girl returned home with the help of a passerby. She told no one for two days . It was only when relatives noticed her deteriorating condition that she finally spoke.

An FIR was filed on April 5 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the POCSO Act , naming Asad Haider, Chand, cafe owner Saifi, Samir Ahmad, Banti, and two unidentified persons. Deputy Superintendent of Police Mukesh Chandra Mishra confirmed that all seven accused remain at large and a manhunt is underway.

The case has once again raised troubling questions about the use of recorded assault as a tool of control , and the wall of fear it builds around its victims.