ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Indian student indicted in U.S. child exploitation case
The case involves alleged online grooming and blackmail of minors across state lines, investigators said.
-
Malvika Choudhary - Mon, 13, Apr 2026
- 17:21 EDT
- 30
Representative image / Pexels
A federal grand jury has indicted a 29-year-old Indian graduate student on charges of attempted sexual exploitation of minors and cyberstalking.
Chandan M. Bhangale, a computer science student at Colorado State University, was charged in a three-count indictment earlier this month involving minors from Wisconsin’s Fox Valley region.
Also Read: FBI offers $10K in case of missing Indian student since 2019
According to court records, Bhangale is originally from Pune, Maharashtra, India, and is in the United States on a student visa.
Prosecutors allege he used social media and messaging platforms to contact minors, gain their trust and obtain personal information. He is accused of inducing victims to produce child sexual abuse material and then using threats and blackmail to force continued compliance.
Court records state he allegedly warned victims of consequences including the public release of explicit material and harm to them or their families. Investigators also allege he coerced victims into acts such as self-harm, cutting their hair and producing additional explicit content.
If convicted, Bhangale faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison on each attempted sexual exploitation count and up to five years for cyberstalking.
The case was investigated by the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Denver, Milwaukee and Green Bay offices), the Appleton Police Department, the Colorado State University Police Department, the Hortonville Police Department and the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Duros.
The charges are part of Project Safe Childhood, led by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat online child exploitation.
This comes as the Federal Bureau of Investigation has also renewed a $10,000 reward in a separate case involving Mayushi Bhagat, an Indian student who disappeared from New Jersey in 2019 and remains untraced more than six years later.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
Related
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
Video
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login