The Palarivattom police on Thursday arrested a person on the charge of publishing objectionable pictures of girls on social media after creating fake accounts.
The arrested was identified as Mohammed Safwan, 22, of Feroke in Kozhikode.
The Kochi City Shadow Police tracked him down to Feroke with the help of the cyber cell following a petition filed by a girl whose bikini-clad picture he had published as the profile picture of a fake Instagram account he created.
“The accused had managed to secure the picture from a close friend of the petitioner whom he had befriended while pursuing IELTS course in Bangalore,” said Palarivattom Inspector P.S. Sreejesh.
Blackmailing
He also sent the picture to friends of the petitioner. The police has confirmed that the accused had tried to blackmail the girl through whom he secured the picture by threatening to shame her in the same manner by publishing her pictures.
“It is reliably learnt that the accused had blackmailed many girls in the same manner and we are investigating it,” the police said.
IT Act
The accused has been slapped with various sections of the Information Technology Act and IPC 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) among others.
A team led by Mr. Sreejesh made the arrest.
