Threatened 13-year-old girl using her nude photos; youth arrested

PATHANAMTHITTA: A youth has been arrested for allegedly threatening a 13-year-old girl using her nude photos. The accused, Rajesh Kumar, a native of Ranni, was arrested by the Ranni police.

According to the police, the girl became friends with Rajesh Kumar through social media in September last year. The incident came to light after the girl’s parents noticed that he had forced her to send her photographs. Further investigation revealed that he allegedly threatened to circulate the photos on social media and used the threat to obtain nude pictures of the minor.

While Ranni Police were investigating the complaint, the accused allegedly created another social media account using the girl’s photo as the profile picture and continued threatening her through the account. Police later tracked down and arrested Rajesh Kumar with the help of the cyber cell. He was working as a mechanic in Idukki district at the time of his arrest.

Police said the accused had been living away from his family for several years. He allegedly used another youth’s photograph as his profile picture and posted reels on social media to attract the girl. Investigators also found several photos of girls and four fake Instagram accounts on his mobile phone. Police are now examining whether he had approached more girls in a similar manner.

The arrest was carried out by a team led by Inspector Prajeesh Sasi, along with SI Sibi and police officers Abhinand and Shailendran. The accused was later produced before the court and remanded in custody.