Nearly 18 months back when Ayan Ahmed Tanveer, alias Mohammad Ayaz, allegedly began luring girls and taking them to a rented accommodation in Maharashtra's Amravati for exploitation, his childhood friend Ujer Khan was there filming for him, sources have told NDTV.
Till then, no videos were posted on any social media. A few images circulated on 19-year-old Mohammad Ayaz's Instagram and SnapChat accounts.
However, a money dispute between the two friends uncovered the sordid saga.
An irate Ujer Khan, 20, decided to post the videos on his social media accounts and also began circulating them among his friends.
His aim was to bring disrepute to Mohammad Ayaz publicly.
As the videos began circulating, a few locals got the whiff of it and began demanding investigation and strong action against those involved.
On Tuesday, the police and got Mohammad Ayaz, along with Uzer Khan, arrested for sexually assaulting minors.
A day later, the family of Ayaz faced bulldozer action as the civic body demolished illegal portions of his family's house in Paratwada.
Mohammad Ayaz allegedly lured the girls into a "love trap," took them to Mumbai and Pune, and filmed obscene videos of them.
These videos were allegedly used to blackmail the girls and force them into prostitution.
The minors were systematically targeted through WhatsApp and Snapchat groups, according to a memorandum submitted by Rajya Sabha MP Anil Bonde to Superintendent of Police (Rural) Vishal Anand.
Ayaz has been remanded to police custody for seven days. The police have also seized his mobile phone. According to sources, the device contains several objectionable videos.
Mohammad Ayaz had allegedly served as an office-bearer of the AIMIM earlier.
AIMIM has distanced itself from the accused. Sayyed Mujeeb, District President of AIMIM in Amravati, categorically said that "Mohammed Ayaz has no affiliation with the party."
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