Mumbai: 36-year-old held for sending obscene photos through messaging app

A 36-year-old cobbler, who has been harassing women by sending them obscene photos of himself on their phones, was arrested by the Borivli police recently.

A 36-year-old cobbler, who has been harassing women by sending them obscene photos of himself on their phones, was arrested by the Borivli police recently. The police have recovered eight mobile phones and stolen Aadhar cards from his Chembur residence, while making the arrest.

Navratmal Khatnavlia, a resident of Chembur, has been targeting women across Mumbai since last year. He is suspected to have molested more than 50 women, said an officer.

Once he got his hands on a phone number, he would call and ascertain if a woman was using it. After confirming the number belonged to a woman, he would harass her, sending obscene messages to them on their phone's messaging app.

“He also got in touch with several women through Whatsapp. As messaging a stranger is easy on the platform, he would send pornographic pictures and videos. He would also send objectionable pictures of himself to them,” said Gorakhnath Gharge, assistant inspector at the Borivli police station.

Khatnavlia recently targeted a Borivli-based housewife using the same modus operandi. He contacted the woman and sent her his photographs on Whatsapp. The woman approached the Borivli police station this month and registered an FIR.

The police initiated investigations and tracked the number to a fake address. They found out that the owner of the address had recently lodged a complaint following the theft of his Aadhar card. Following further investigations, the police tracked down Khatnavlia to his Chembur residence in Thakkar Bappa Colony, where he stays with his wife.

“We have recovered eight cell phones, seven SIM cards and five stolen Aadhar cards along with a woman’s voter ID. He would register the numbers under fake addresses to evade detection,” said an officer.

Khatnavlia has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information and Technology Act. He has been remanded in police custody till Friday.