Cybercrime police arrest man for pretending as woman on Instagram, to trap girls

HYDERABAD: The Cybercrime police station, Hyderabad has apprehended S Jishnu Kirthan Reddy, a resident of Medchal, for pretending as a girl on a fake Instagram account and trapping many girls.

According to police, several girls who believed him sent him their private pictures. The accused then started threatening those girls to send their nude videos or else he would send those private pictures to their followers on Instagram.

On December 28, 2023, police received a petition from the victim’s mother in which she stated that one unknown person with a fake Instagram account morphed a few photos of her daughter 14 years of age. The complainant also mentioned that the accused was pressuring her daughter and forcing her to send her nude pictures to him and if she didn’t send the nude photo or video every day, he would upload the earlier pictures on social media. She requested the police to take action.

The police booked a case under sections 67, 67A, 66 (C), 66(D) IT ACT & 354D, 506, 509 IPC and 11 R/w 12 POCSO. After the investigation, the police apprehended the accused and sent him for judicial remand.

The team that cracked the case was headed by Padma, inspector, under the direct supervision of ACP, Cybercrimes, and close monitoring of Shilpa Valli, DCP, Cybercrimes.

The Cybercrime police warned young girls and women not to chat or share any private pictures or information with strangers or unknown persons. They were advised to keep their social media handles in private view. The police advised them not to panic and to reach the nearest police station or cybercrime police station for immediate assistance.