Two held on charges of ‘cyberbullying’

One of the accused, a conductor, was collecting phone numbers from bus passes

Police displaying the phones and SIM cards recovered from the accused, at a press conference in Vijayawada on Sunday.

Two persons were on Sunday arrested on charges of ‘cyberbullying’ (sending objectionable, abusive and threatening messages to women).

The police recovered 32 SIM cards, nine memory cards and five mobile phones from them.

The accused had sent abusive messages to about 200 women, said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP-Law and Order) G. Pala Raju.

The DCP told newsmen here that P. Srinivasa Rao, a conductor in the RTC and resident of Yenamalakuduru in the city, had “collected the phone numbers of women when they showed their bus passes. He also collected some numbers from his wife’s phone,” Mr. Pala Raju said. South Zone Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) K. Srinivas Rao said M. Samuel of Ajitsingh Nagar collected the phone numbers of women from newspapers advertisements and sent them abusive SMSs. “The accused met each other during a bus journey and started sharing numbers and harassing women. To protect their identity, they changed about 32 SIM cards of different mobile phone companies and memory cards,” Mr. Srinivas said.

“We are trying to find out for how long the accused had been harassing women and indulging in other criminal activities, if any,” the ACP said.

Following a complaint lodged by a victim, the Governorpet police station took up investigation and arrested them, the DCP said.