Dr.Thomas (Special Correspondent)
The Southeast cyber crime police on Sunday arrested a 38-year-old man who used to trap gullible women for virtual sex and record their videos to blackmail them for sexual favours.
The accused,a PU drop out and owned a printing press in HSR layout married and having two children,used to operate with fake IDs of women on instagram to trap women to seek virtual sex since for the last 8 years .
Once the victims are convinced the accused would appear on video and convinced them for the act.He would later record the videos without their knowledge and started to blackmail them seeking sexual favours.
Despite many more women had fallen to his trap,none of them have filed a complaint fearing social stigma, CK, Baba,DCP, Southeast, who supervised the case, said .
Using this modus operandi, the accused had cheated around 33 women from across the country including home makers, working women and students.
The accused had befriended a college student and blackmailed her for sexual relationship after meeting her in Hyderabad.
The victim had gone to pursue her course when the accused followed and took her to a oyo room.
The accused when started harassing her again, the victim even tried to end her life, but based on a tip off , the police reached to her and convinced her to file a complaint.
Based on the complaint,the police arrested the accused and recovered his phone and other electronic gadgets he was using to operate his racket .
This is not an isolated case,as many as five cases which are similar in nature have been reported in the south east division alone,Mr.Baba,said .
Due to the technological advancement, which is double edge sword, gullible people especially women are falling trap to such sexual predators because of lack of safety measures while operating social media account, he said .
Giving a list of do’s and don’ts, Mr. Baba said that the people should not entertain strangers as their is a risk of exploitation and cyber bullying .
Sharing personal and private details lie pics not only comprise privacy but also leads to online scams.Using simple safety measures like protecting your details in the account would ensure physical safety as well .
Giving a piece of advise to the victims,Mr.Baba,said that the victims should report to the police immediately to get justice,prevent future offence and protect other victims.
The victims should access support from the system in order to come out of the trauma by sharing the ordeal through counselling .
The public awareness in this regard is much needed and ensuring medical attention to the victims of sexual crimes are important to save them from other problems.
The victims should not normalize such heinous acts and break the silence and social stigma attached to it and ensure the required legal aid is availed to them, Mr. Baba said .
