A young man from Surat has been subjected to a prolonged and distressing campaign of online harassment, involving morphed photographs of his wife, leading to a formal police complaint. The victim, a 28-year-old employee of a garment firm in the city's Ring Road area, has endured abusive messages and threats for nearly five months.
Chronology of Harassment and Intimidation
The ordeal began on September 18, when the victim, while at his workplace, received a barrage of abusive messages on his Telegram account from an unknown sender. The messages were accompanied by a photograph of his wife. The harassment took a more sinister turn when the accused later shared a photograph of a police complaint that the victim himself had previously lodged with Vesu police in August regarding similar issues.
This detail raised serious alarm, as the copy of that complaint was only available on the mobile phones of the victim's immediate family members. This led the complainant to suspect that their phones might have been hacked. The perpetrator escalated the intimidation by sending a screenshot falsely claiming that the victim's wife had spoken to someone for 14 minutes, accompanied by threats to send more such damaging messages.
Persistent Campaign Across Multiple Fake IDs
Undeterred by the victim's initial police report, the accused allegedly created approximately 10 different Instagram IDs to continue the relentless stream of abusive and intimidating messages. This persistent campaign, which stretched over months, left the victim with no choice but to approach the Vesu police station once again to seek intervention and justice.
Police Action and Technical Investigation
Vesu police have taken the matter seriously and registered a formal case. Police Inspector JI Patel confirmed the legal actions taken. "We have registered a case under sections 352 and 351(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 66(c) and 66(d) of the IT Act for criminal intimidation and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace," stated Patel.
The investigation has taken a technical turn as officers have traced the accused's activities to another city outside Surat. "Technical surveillance has been initiated," Inspector Patel added, expressing confidence that "He will be arrested soon." The case highlights the growing challenge of cyber-enabled harassment and the use of digital platforms for prolonged intimidation.
