Hyderabad: The cybercrime police have registered a case against a stalker fclaiming to be from Karnataka for allegedly blackmailing a woman from Hyderabad with photos recorded during private video calls.According to the police, the accused befriended the woman on social media in Nov 2024 and soon began a virtual relationship with her, promising marriage. He is alleged to have secretly recorded their conversations and, when she tried to end the relationship, he started posting her morphed photographs online.The victim alleges that the accused has been circulating her doctored, obscene photographs, as well as photographs of her family members, including a minor, through multiple Instagram accounts. “He also publicly shared our phone numbers on social media alongside the photos,” she said.Unable to endure the harassment, the victim approached the cybercrime police on Saturday. On her complaint, a case was booked under Section 67A (punishment for publishing or transmitting material containing sexually explicit acts in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act, Sections 77 (voyeurism), 78 (stalking) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.Police have initiated steps to take down the objectionable content and sought user data from the concerned social media platforms to nab the offender.Police have advised social media users to exercise caution when interacting with strangers online. “Never share personal images or engage in private video calls with people you don’t know in real life,” said a cyber crime official.
