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Police caution netizens against online sextortion after youth dies by suicide
The deceased, a B.Com student studying at Garware College, reportedly became acquainted with a woman on Instagram
A 23-year-old youth allegedly died by suicide after being harassed in a ‘sextortion’ case. The incident took place on September 28 and a case was registered on Wednesday. This is second such case in the last few days, said police.
The deceased, a B.Com student studying at Garware College, reportedly became acquainted with a woman on Instagram. On September 28, the woman undressed and asked the youth to do the same. Later, the accused allegedly demanded money from the youth and threatened to leak his photographs and videos on social media.
The police have registered an FIR at Dattawadi police station following a complaint lodged by the deceased’s brother under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide), 384 (punishment for extortion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other relevant sections of Information Technology Act 2000.
Vijay Khomane, police inspector (Crime) at Dattawadi police station said, “The deceased transferred Rs4,500 in three transactions, but the accused demanded more money.”
In the earlier case reported on October 10, the deceased, an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) passout, reportedly became acquainted with a woman stranger on WhatsApp. On September 30, during a call, the woman undressed and asked the youth to do the same. Later, the online accused allegedly demanded money from the youth and threatened to leak his nude footage on social media. A case was registered at Sahakar Nagar police station.
According to police officials of the Pune cyber cell, the racket of sextortion and extorting money by threatening victims has gained momentum.
In 2021, the cyber cell received 685 complaints and four cases were registered. Police informed that in 2020 no complaint has been registered as cases related to sextortion were categorised under cybercrime.
In the current year (till September 2022) Pune cybercrime unit has received 1,445 complaints related to sextortion and one case has been registered.
Kumar Ghadge, police inspector, cyber cell Pune, said, “Many times people do not register a case due to social stigma. However, the best way of bringing such cases under control is to report them to the police stations.”
“Young people should be careful while talking to strangers on social media,” he said.
Rohan Nyayadhish, cybercrime expert, said, “As a precaution people should not accept friend requests from strangers. Youths are spending more time on social media hence they are communicating with many people. Also, never accept video calls from unknown persons and avoid clicking on any unknown links. In case of any sextortion incident, approach cyber police and lodge a complaint.”
