VIJAYAWADA: Acting swiftly on a complaint received during the Spandana programme this Monday, Krishna district police arrested a youngster who reportedly harassed and threatened young women saying he would post their morphed and explicit photos online.
The accused, B Ganesh (22) is a resident of Kondapalli village near Nagarkurnool of Telangana. He runs a small shop in his hometown. Addressing the media in Machilipatnam, Krishna SP P Jashuva said Ganesh was a habitual offender and had cases booked against him at various police stations in AP and Telangana for cyber-bullying and harassment.
Explaining his modus operandi, the SP said Ganesh used FaceBook to befriend women abd girls. Using multiple accounts, he collected their details and then demanded money in exchange for not uploading their morphed photos and videos on social media.
On Monday, a woman from Krishna district approached SP Jashuva during the Spandana on Monday and lodged a complaint against Ganesh. The police registered a confidential FIR and formed special teams to nab the accused.
In her complaint, she told police that she met Ganesh through FaceBook following a post pertaining to a mobile application promotion. He introduced himself as Vikas Ram.During the process, he collected her and her families contact numbers.Using those details, he created a fake account on Facebook and blackmailed her by posting her morphed photo and contact number in a group.
“Ganesh selects his targets and befriends them claiming himself as a software employee or businessman. After gaining their trust, he sends a morphed photo of the girl and demands that they make nude video calls. He secretly records the entire call using screen recorder software. After receiving the explicit material, he will threaten, blackmail, and extort money from the family of the girl. We have found that the accused blackmailed and extorted as many as 19 girls from two Telugu states,” the SP told TNIE. The police, with the help of the complainant, laid a trap for Ganesh by luring him to come to Krishna district.
Beware of strangers
The SP requested young girls and women not to respond to friend requests from unknown persons on social media and not to share personal information. He urged women to approach police during emergencies by dialling 100 or through Disha SOS mobile application. The SP appreciated the efforts of additional SP N Venkata Ramanjaneyulu, Disha police station inspector Naresh Kumar, sub-inspector Mastan Khan and IT core SI Deepika for solving the case.