A man was arrested in Assam's Dibrugarh on Saturday evening for allegedly creating a fake social media profile of influencer Archita Phukan and uploading her morphed photos, police said on Sunday.
The accused, Pratim Bora, is a former partner of Phukan. He allegedly uploaded the objectionable content to defame and harass the woman, a police officer said.
Bora, a resident of Tinsukia, was operating the fake profile for several weeks. He was arrested from his hometown following a complaint lodged by Phukan's brother, the officer said.
Phukan, popularly known as Babydoll Archi, said that her morphed pictures with US adult film star Kendra Lust were shared from the fake account. The Assam-based girl said that her friends and acquaintances came across the morphed photos after the images were widely circulated on social media.
Police said that Bora had gone into hiding, but they located him by tracing his phone. “We tracked the accused using IP address data and technical evidence. He was arrested from a rented apartment in Tinsukia. His phone and laptop have been seized and sent for forensic examination,” a cybercrime officer said.
Police said that he admitted to sourcing images from her old social media posts and editing them. "During interrogation, the accused said he created the fake account out of anger and emotional frustration following the end of his relationship with the woman," the officer added.
{{/usCountry}}Police said that he admitted to sourcing images from her old social media posts and editing them. "During interrogation, the accused said he created the fake account out of anger and emotional frustration following the end of his relationship with the woman," the officer added.
{{/usCountry}}An FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). "We have arrested him under sections of BNS, but we may include provisions of the Information Technology Act for cyber fraud, defamation, identity manipulation, obscenity, and invasion of privacy. Bora is currently in police custody and will be produced before a court soon," the officer said.