Morphed photo of Airman circulated after he refused pay up

Navi Mumbai In a fresh case of sextortion, the Nhava Sheva police have booked an unidentified man for morphing the photo of an Airman working with JNPT air force station with a nude woman and sharing it across the complainant’s contacts after he refused to give in to demands for money

Navi Mumbai

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In a fresh case of sextortion, the Nhava Sheva police have booked an unidentified man for morphing the photo of an Airman working with JNPT air force station with a nude woman and sharing it across the complainant’s contacts after he refused to give in to demands for money.

According to police, the airman’s phone was stolen in Delhi last month and it is suspected that the accused, who stole it, has got access to his contacts and photos using which he started blackmailing for money.

On Tuesday morning, when the complainant was at his guest house, an unidentified man whatsapped him his passport size photo in uniform along with all the contact numbers. Also, the accused sent a photo of the complainant by morphing a nude woman’s photo in a layout, making it look as if he was indulging in a video chat with a lady.

“The accused gave an hour’s time to the complainant to send money to him. By sending contact numbers, he wanted to show that he has all the numbers of his dear and near ones. The complainant ignored the message and after some time, his friend called and told him he had received a photo of him seemingly in a video chat with a nude woman. Alarmed after many friends told him the same, he approached us and registered a case. Further investigations are on,” a police officer from Nhava Sheva police station said.

The police said it is suspected that the phone reached the wrong hands who decided to misuse it to make money by blackmailing the owner of the phone. The accused has been booked under the sections of the IT Act.

Cases of extortion using whatsapp videocalls, morphed nude photos are witnessing a sharp rise across India. The police say only 90% cases are not being reported as complainants do not want their identity revealed in first information reports.