IIT-Kharagpur boy arrested for allegedly harassing students, teachers in Delhi

Deputy police commissioner, north Delhi, Sagar Singh Kalsi said they received a complaint from the school principal on August 6 about the alleged activities of the cyber-stalker

The Delhi Police have arrested a 19-year-old engineering student for allegedly harassing online students and teachers at a prominent school in the national capital. The accused, Mahavir Kumar, attended online classes, joined the school’s WhatsApp groups, and also allegedly shared morphed photographs of the students on social media.

The man was stalking minor girls and also called teachers from different international numbers (Photo Credit- Delhi Police)

A two-month-long police investigation led to the arrest of Kumar, who is from Patna and pursuing a B Tech at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur or IIT Kharagpur. He alleged spoofed phone numbers of the students and regularly spoke to their teachers. Kumar is accused of harassing over 50 girls and their teachers by creating fake profiles on Instagram. Kumar joined WhatsApp groups and allegedly circulated obscene photographs of the students.

Deputy police commissioner (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said they received a complaint from the school principal on August 6 about the alleged activities of the cyber-stalker. “The man was stalking minor girls and also called teachers from different international numbers. The stalker was also spoofing numbers and calling teachers from the numbers of the students. They also informed us in the complaint that the stalker entered WhatsApp groups without the permission of the admin and changed icons. He also posted morphed photographs of many students on different social media platforms,” said Kalsi.

Police said Kumar allegedly used at least 33 WhatsApp virtual numbers to harass the students and teachers. “We analysed the details of the IP logs of WhatsApp, Instagram, and the email ids used to create the accounts. Through technical surveillance, we traced the suspect and arrested him from his house in Patna, Bihar,” said Kalsi.

Kumar first came in contact with one of the students three years ago and started stalking her virtually before targeting other students and teachers. Police said Kumar used fake caller ID and mobile apps to change his voice while contacting the students. They added Kumar has been brought to Delhi and was being questioned. Police were probing if he has harassed other minor girls or women.