Hyderabad, Oct 19 A 23-year-old man who allegedly extorted money from people by creating fake profiles of women on social media to lure them and then obtaining their private photos and videos has been arrested, police said on Monday.
The accused, K Pavan Kumar, a native of Bhadradri Kothagudem district in Telangana, created fake profiles on social media using female identities and sent friend and follow requests to people, posing as a “girl” and gradually had sexual chats with them.
“He then sent them nude photographs and asked them to send their own. He stored the nude photographs he collected in his different mobile phones and in his other social media accounts. The ‘girl’ then introduced Pavan as her brother, and he entered the picture,” a police release said.
The accused contacted his alleged prey through calls, instant messaging apps, and social media, and also met some of them in person.
He then threatened them by showing their photographs and videos, and told them he would make his ‘sister’ file a complaint against them, and in this way he extorted money from them, police said.
In his fake accounts, he mostly used photographs of a girl from Kolkata, with the name “Chandana”, police said.
Based on a complaint, a case was registered at Saidabad police station under relevant sections of the BNS and IT Act.
During the investigation, police found out that the accused, who created 29 fake social media accounts, extorted and cheated a total amount of Rs 25.16 lakh from people, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Charminar Zone) Khare Kiran Prabhakar said.
The accused, a homosexual, chatted with more than 1,000 people over the past three to four years and among them 82 sent their nude photos/videos to him, the DCP said, adding that the victims are from Andhra Pradesh, Keralam, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Punjab. He also tried to extort those in Dubai, Turkey, Pakistan and Canada.
Doctors, businessmen, lecturers, private employees, delivery boys and gig drivers were among those trapped by the accused, the official added.
(PTI News)
