Acquaintance clones actress’ FB account, distributes her number to fans

30-year-old actress's Facebook account cloned by acquaintance after she labeled him a cheater for not repaying borrowed money, leading to disclosure of her phone number. FIR filed.

MUMBAI: A 30-year-old actress has reported that an acquaintance cloned her Facebook account, engaged with her fans, and disclosed her phone number to multiple individuals. This was because the accused had taken money from her which he was unable to pay back and the actress had made a Facebook post about it.

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The Oshiwara police registered an FIR on Friday based on the actress’s complaint. According to the police report, the actress met the accused, identified as Srinivasan, in 2018 through professional engagements. In June 2023, he borrowed ₹12,000 from her and later returned to his hometown in Chennai. Even after repeated requests, the accused evaded repayment, leading the actress to publicly label him a cheater and a fraud on Facebook.

“On February 19, I tried calling him again, but he didn’t pick up. Feeling frustrated, I vented on Facebook, calling him a cheater and fraud. In response, he threatened to share morphed, inappropriate pictures of me,” the complainant told the police.

Subsequently, the complainant began receiving calls from various unknown numbers, with one caller informing her that her number was being circulated through social media messages. “I remembered then that one of the threats he made over text was to pass on my phone number to other men,” she further added.

The accused has been booked under sections 500 (defamation) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.