A young man has been apprehended by the Rapid Action Battalion for allegedly exploiting a romantic relationship to secretly capture intimate videos and photographs of a woman, and subsequently demanding money under threat of uploading the media to the internet.
The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Rafid Sikdar, is the son of Mujibullah Sikdar from the Elephant Road area under NewMarket police station in the capital. He was the sole named accused in a formal pornography case filed at Keraniganj Model police station. Details of the operation were disclosed in a press release signed by Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Tapan Sarkar, assistant director of media for RAB-10.
According to investigators, the 18-year-old victim, a resident of Keraniganj, had a prior acquaintance with the suspect which led to regular communication between them. Taking advantage of their growing closeness and trust, Rafid surreptitiously recorded private pictures and intimate moments of the young woman. He then leveraged this material to exert severe psychological pressure, demanding financial sums and threatening to broadcast the private footage across social media platforms and public online forums if his financial demands were ignored. Despite the victim pleading with him to halt the harassment, the extortion continued unabated.
The victim eventually confided in her family members regarding the ordeal. Following this, between 21:00 and 22:00 on 11 April, Rafid reportedly renewed his threats and sent previously captured private files to her again. Driven to take legal action, the victim lodged a formal complaint at Keraniganj Model police station under the Pornography Control Act.
The investigating officer subsequently forwarded a formal requisition letter to the commanding officer of RAB-10 requesting assistance in apprehending the suspect. Acting on this request, elite battalion units deployed intelligence surveillance and information technology to track Rafid’s movements. Building on these digital leads, an operational team from the RAB-10 CPC-1 Lalbagh camp launched a targeted raid based on confidential tips, successfully intercepting and arresting Rafid Sikdar near the Azimpur bus terminal at approximately 20:50 on Monday.
Following his capture, the accused was handed over to the local police station to face further legal proceedings as stipulated by the law. Authorities continue to stress the seriousness of digital harassment and blackmail, urging victims to report such violations immediately rather than yielding to coercive demands.
