Mumbai: Cybercriminal From Bengaluru Held for Targeting Women Who Rejected His Friend Requests

Mumbai’s Dahisar Police have arrested a 25-year-old cyber criminal from Bengaluru for running obscene and defamatory campaigns against women on social media. The accused, identified as Shubham Kumar, hails from Bihar and was working as a security guard in Karnataka at the time of his arrest.

According to police officials, Shubham was targeting women who refused to accept his friend requests on social media platforms. In retaliation, he launched a malicious cyber campaign against them.

During the investigation, police discovered that Shubham had created fake Instagram profiles in the names of at least 11 different women. He used these accounts to post morphed obscene images and messages, falsely portraying the women as sex workers.

Further examination of the accused’s mobile phone revealed a disturbing collection of 13,500 photographs of women and girls, which he had saved over time. Police also found that he had created around 100 fake email IDs, which were used to anonymously operate these fake social media accounts and carry out online harassment.

The matter came to light on 31st January 2025, when a college student lodged a complaint alleging that someone had created a vulgar fake Instagram account in her name to malign her image. Taking the complaint seriously, police initiated a technical investigation. Based on inputs received from Facebook and Google, they were able to trace and apprehend Shubham from Karnataka.

Investigations also revealed that the accused used to send Instagram messages to women, attempting to coerce them into nude video calls. Upon refusal, he would misuse their names and photographs to post obscene content online.

Dahisar Police have taken the accused into custody and initiated a detailed digital forensic investigation of his devices. Preliminary findings suggest that many more women may have been targeted by him.

The police have appealed to the public to immediately report any form of cyber harassment or abuse to their nearest police station or cyber crime cell.