HYDERABAD: Saidabad police arrested a 23-year-old man for allegedly creating fake social media profiles posing as women to obtain nude photographs and videos from victims and extort money by threatening to circulate the material or implicate them in police cases.
The accused, Kondabhattula Pavan Kumar, a resident of Kukatpally, allegedly extorted Rs 18 lakh through the scheme and cheated others of Rs 7.16 lakh through separate frauds, taking the total amount involved to Rs 25.16 lakh, police said.
According to Charminar Zone DCP Khare Kiran Prabhakar, he interacted with more than 1,000 people using fake profiles, while 82 allegedly shared their explicit photographs or videos with the accused. The victims included doctors, businessmen, lecturers, private-sector employees, delivery personnel and gig workers. Nine victims were from other countries, including the UAE, Turkey, Pakistan and Canada, while 24 were from other Indian states, including Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Punjab.
Speaking at a press meet on Monday, the DCP said Pavan operated 13 Instagram accounts and 14 Facebook accounts using different identities. He also used three mobile numbers and two WhatsApp accounts. Police found that he frequently used photographs of a woman from Kolkata, identified as ‘Chandana’, for the fake profiles. They have taken steps to alert her through her workplace and the local police in Kolkata.
Pavan allegedly sent friend and follow requests to users, posed as a woman and gradually steered conversations towards sexual content. After exchanging explicit photographs, he persuaded victims to share their own images and videos. He then allegedly approached them while posing as the woman’s brother and threatened to circulate the material or file complaints against them. Police said he also met some victims in person.
A case has been registered under Sections 308(7) and 351(2) of the BNS and Sections 66C, 66D, 66E and 67A of the Information Technology Act. Further probe is underway.
