VIJAYAWADA: If you happen to receive a request on Facebook or other social media platforms from somebody not known to you, better give it a second thought before accepting it as the stranger might turn out to be an online predator or a blackmailer.
Facebook, which was developed as an information-sharing and network building platform, is being misused to target women, especially young ones, and exploit and extort money from them in the name of friendship. Not only students, but married and working women are also falling prey to such men.
Though the city police do not reveal such cases taking place in the region, it is believed that more than 50 cases of similar nature have been reported in various police stations, according to sources.
In one such case, a 19-year-old engineering student, Kumari (name changed), paid a heavy price for accepting the friend request from a stranger a few ago. In no time, they exchanged their phone numbers and even set a date to meet. After a few meetings, the girl was introduced to some of the boy’s friends. Later, they got close and the victim was even proposed.
Taking the benefit of their closeness, the boy recently took the girl to a hotel in Ibrahimpatnam where she was sexually assaulted by him and two others. The entire incident was recorded, too.
Shocked to the core, the girl was, however, able to escape and went to her native place for Dasara festival. The incident came to light after she lodged a complaint with the police when the youths uploaded that video clip online.
Five, including a juvenile, involved were arrested, the police said, adding the juvenile was the main accused. “A case under cyber laws and Section 376 was registered against the accused,” CI Pavan Kumar said.
Commenting on the issue, Vijayawada Police Commissioner Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao said, “Kumari’s case is not alone. While women are sexually exploited, men become victims of extortion. Staying careful is the only option in this digital era where personal security is always at stake,” he said
