This story is from December 15, 2018

When friendship on Instagram turned a nightmare for Bengaluru teen

When friendship on Instagram turned a nightmare for Bengaluru teen
Representative image
BENGALURU: A 16-year-old college girl, who befriended a Mumbai man on social media, has alleged that he harassed her online and molested her when he came to the city a month ago.
The accused, Chirag Thaker, 37, is from Naigaon, east Mumbai, where he is working at a provision store, police said. The girl, a II PU student with a private college in east Bengaluru, alleged that Thaker threatened her with dire consequences if she failed to keep in touch with him.

They became friends on Instagram in December 2017 and had been chatting for a few months, said police. Later, he allegedly morphed a photo, in which the girl and Thaker were seen together. Later, he started passing remarks at her with sexual innuendos. When she took objection, he threatened to send the morphed photos to her family members.
Police said he took advantage of her silence and came to Bengaluru a month ago. When she saw him outside her college, he pulled her towards him and asked her to accompany him. However, he left the spot after she resisted him, the girl alleged.
The girl told her parents about her ordeal on December 8 and a police complaint was filed. “He continued sending her messages even after he returned to Mumbai. He demanded that she read and reply to his messages and threatened to kill her if she didn’t listen to him,” said police.
A police team has gone to Mumbai to nab Thaker. “We have registered a case of sexual harassment, stalking and criminal intimidation under various IPC sections and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act,” said police.
“We have traced the accused in Mumbai and our team will bring him to Bengaluru to record his statement to know what happened between him and the girl. We will arrest him based on the probe,” said an investigating officer.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA