Four men have been arrested in Maharashtra's Pune for allegedly sexually assaulting a 21-year-old BA first-year student repeatedly over nearly a year and threatening to circulate obscene videos of her if she resisted or complained, police said.

The case allegedly began with an Instagram friendship that turned into a relationship before the survivor was taken to a room in Wagholi on the pretext of an outing and sexually assaulted, according to her complaint. The alleged abuse then continued at different locations over the following year.

The survivor, a resident of Pune's Viman Nagar area, said in her complaint that she met Farhan Sheikh through Instagram after taking admission to a reputed college in the city in 2025. The two reportedly became friends, after which Farhan proposed to her and the friendship turned into a relationship.

According to the complaint, just two days after proposing to her, Farhan allegedly took the student to Wagholi on the pretext of an outing. He then allegedly took her to a room, where he sexually assaulted her.

The survivor's statement alleges that the incident was not isolated. Over the next year, Farhan and his three friends - Fazal Sheikh, Rehan Sheikh and Sahil - allegedly sexually assaulted her repeatedly at different locations.

Police said the four accused allegedly threatened to make obscene videos of the survivor viral if she resisted or approached the authorities. The threats were allegedly used to silence her and prevent her from complaining about the assaults.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered at Wagholi Police Station. Police have arrested Farhan Sheikh, Fazal Sheikh, Rehan Sheikh and Sahil in connection with the case.

The four accused are currently in police custody, and further investigation is underway.

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Published By:

Sonali Verma

Published On:

Jul 20, 2026 23:44 IST