Tabloid owner accused of rape, trafficking held

Jitendra alias Jitu Soni, 62, the owner of a tabloid accused of rape, blackmail, extortion, human trafficking, land grab, was arrested from Gujarat on Sunday after remaining on the run for seven months, the Madhya Pradesh police said.

Deputy inspector general Harinarayanchari Mishra said of the 64 criminal cases, Soni, an Indore resident, faces, 47 have been lodged over the last six months. He added a local court has remained Soni in police custody for interrogation.

Soni had been on the run since escaping during a police raid in December after Harbhajan Singh, an Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) engineer, filed a case against the tabloid owner for defaming him based on “unfounded conversation” and for trying to blackmail him.

The tabloid published a transcript of the engineer’s alleged conversation with certain women arrested on charges of luring, trapping, and blackmailing high-profile people in states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It also carried transcripts of purported conversations of two other high-profile people, including a former minister.

Indore inspector general Vivek Sharma said six police teams carried out raids at several places to track Soni over the last six months. He added Soni was eventually arrested from his ancestral Dhargni village in Gujarat’s Amreli district when he was about to change his location.

Sharma said Soni kept moving from one place to another in Maharashtra and Gujarat. “He has had a criminal history since 1991.” He added there was a Rs 1.50 lakh reward for information leading to his arrest.

Sharma said Soni has primarily been arrested in connection with the case filed against him in December. “So far, Soni’s son, Amit Soni, and brother, Mahendra Soni, have been arrested. His other brother Hukum Soni, son Vikki Soni, nephews Jignesh Soni and Lucky Soni, four other members of his family, and 25 other accomplices are yet to be arrested.”

IMC and police razed Soni’s two bungalows in Indore and removed illegal structures at his two hotels and a cafe in December as part of an anti-encroachment drive. The demolition began on December 5 when police claimed to have rescued 67 women and several children from the hotel and arrested Amit Soni, his bouncer, and several members of their staff.