Man posts morphed nude photos of Mumbai woman on WhatsApp and FB, threatens to rape her

Police register case, ask 26-year-old Bandra resident to identify people she suspects

Police are on the hunt for an unidentified man, who has been sexually harassing a 26-year-old woman from Bandra by creating fake profiles of her on Facebook and WhatsApp, claiming that she is a sex worker, posting morphed photos of her and sending her rape threats.

The couple asked the Bandra police to file a case last week under sections of the Indian Penal Code and IT Act for sexual harassment and transmission of obscene material. (HT FILE)

Police said the woman works in the administration department of one of Mumbai’s top colleges. Last month, her colleague told her that she had received a Facebook friend request from a person whose profile had a different name, but the same photos as the woman’s.

The fake profile identified the woman as a commercial sex worker and provided a phone number. Police confirmed that this number was not the woman’s.

The woman and her colleague initially decided to ignore the cybercriminal. He, however, added the colleague to a WhatsApp group in which the display photo was that of the woman. The accused kept posting objectionable photos of the woman in the group, said the police. When the colleague quit the group, the accused called and verbally abused her, saying he was not afraid of the police as they would not be able to catch him.

The woman then told her fiancé about this. He called the accused’s Dubai-based number, but did not receive a response. The accused then sent the woman WhatsApp messages, threatening to “rape her on the road”. He also circulated morphed nude photographs of her, said officers.

The couple approached the Bandra police last week and a case was filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and IT Act, for sexual harassment and transmission of obscene material.

Police officials said they suspect the accused is someone who has past enmity with the woman. They have asked the woman to identify the people she suspects.