The Dahisar police have arrested a 47-year-old highly educated man for allegedly sexually harassing a woman by sending her obscene and defamatory emails. According to the police, the accused, Mohit Shah, who is known to the victim, committed the offence as an act of revenge after a personal dispute between them. In a shocking revelation, the victim found that the accused lived just across from her home and used to consider her a “sister”.
The 30-year-old complainant holds a senior position in a private firm. In November last year, she began receiving vulgar and slanderous emails, which also contained details of her private life. The emails shocked her and caused immense mental stress. However, the sender had masked their identity, making it difficult to trace the culprit.
Following her complaint at the Dahisar police station, the police registered an FIR under various sections of the and the Information Technology Act related to sexual harassment, defamation, and sending obscene content.
The accused had taken extensive technical measures to avoid detection. He used a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to hide his identity, complicating the investigation. Additionally, someone had created a fake Instagram account in the victim’s name, further tarnishing her reputation.
With the help of cyber experts, the Dahisar police began a technical investigation. They contacted Gmail and Instagram to retrieve necessary information. Using the recovery details of the Gmail account, the police traced a suspicious email ID. By tracking the IP address linked to that account and narrowing down service provider data, the investigation led to one suspect.
When the police finally identified and arrested the accused, the complainant was stunned to learn that it was her neighbour, Mohit Shah, who lived right across the street. She said that Shah, who had once referred to her as a sister, was the person behind the sustained harassment.
According to the police, Shah had returned to India from the UK in 2021 after years of living there. He had been staying with his father in Dahisar due to personal issues with his wife. During this time, he became acquainted with the complainant and would often show concern for her. However, during Navratri celebrations, he objected to her staying out late and dancing with friends, which led to an argument. The police say that Shah held a grudge since then and used his knowledge of technology — having worked in an IT company — to create fake accounts and send sexually explicit emails.
Shah has been remanded to police custody as the investigation continues.