Tamil Nadu man arrested for threatening minor girl with her morphed photos

PUDUCHERRY: The Puducherry cybercrime police on Monday arrested a 30-year-old man on charges of threatening a minor girl with her morphed photos and asking her to appear nude on video calls. The police said the man had extorted money from several women after making them appear nude in video calls.

Senior superintendent of police Narra Chaitanya said the modus operandi of the arrested man, identified as S Mujep Ali of Thirumakottai in Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu, was to open several fake accounts on social media platforms and befriend women and minor girls. He later convinced them to appear nude in video calls. He secretly recorded the videos and used them to extort money from the victims.

The issue came to light after the parents of a minor girl in Puducherry lodged a complaint stating that a man who befriended their daughter sent her a morphed photo depicting her nude when she refused to concede to his demand of appearing nude in video calls. The cybercrime police registered a case under sections 351 (3) of the BNS, 14 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) Act, 2012, and 67 (B) of the Information Technology Act 2000, and launched efforts to trace the culprit.

The man called the minor girl on Sunday and said he came to Cuddalore town. He demanded that she come to Cuddalore town, else he would post her morphed photos online. The girl’s parents alerted the cybercrime police, and a team in plain clothes reached the spot mentioned by the man and arrested him.

Chaitanya said the man had been involved in these types of criminal activities since 2020. The team seized his mobile phone and found explicit photos and videos of more than 15 women.

Chaitanya appealed to women and girls not to befriend strangers on social media platforms to avoid falling prey to these types of criminals.