Incidents of young women being blackmailed using obscene photographs are on the rise. In a shocking case, a pervert created a fake Snapchat account in the name of a young woman’s mother and used it to keep surveillance on her. The accused later threatened to leak her obscene pictures. Based on a complaint filed by the victim’s mother, Powai Police have registered a case against an unidentified person.
The victim, a 23-year-old woman originally from Powai, is currently pursuing higher studies in Australia. Her parents reside in Powai. Since 2019, she has been using the social media platform Snapchat, where this incident took place.
In February this year, the woman received a friend request on Snapchat from an account carrying her mother’s name, photo and personal family details. Believing it to be genuine, she accepted the request. However, it later turned out that the account had been created by an unknown person.
On 5th February, the accused began threatening the woman, claiming possession of her obscene photos and warning that they would be made viral. Terrified, the woman immediately contacted her mother, only to realise that the account was fake.
Following this revelation, the victim’s mother approached Powai Police Station and lodged a complaint. Acting on the complaint, police registered an offence under Section 66(C) of the Information Technology Act and Section 351(2).
Police suspect that the accused may be known to the victim. They have already sought technical details from Snapchat regarding the fake ID and have begun their search for the culprit.