Man booked for hacking woman’s social network account

Mumbai An NGO employee has alleged that her social media account has been hacked and that she faced a tough time registering a case. The accused also threatened her women friends, saying he would upload their objectionable photos.

The 24-year-old woman claimed that her account was hacked on Wednesday. The accused demanded money from her friends after impersonating as her. Later, he started to message her women friends, stating that their nude pictures and videos have been uploaded on an adult site.

“I started to receive calls from my anxious friends. They were receiving messages from my account demanding money. The bank account which he had given was traced to Ghaziabad. I contacted the bank but they said that action can be taken after a police complaint,” she said.

The woman registered her complaint with the government’s cyber portal. However, she approached Chembur police station after the hacker started to threaten her friends and said he would upload their photos. He even provided his number to be contacted. “He claimed that his brother is with cyber police,” the woman said.

“When I called the police station on Wednesday night, the policeman cited coronavirus outbreak and refused to file a complaint. My request to speak with a woman constable was also not met,” the woman said.

On Thursday, she reached the police station but claimed that she received a lukewarm response from the police who initially refused to register a case. The woman tweeted her complaint tagging Mumbai police and National Commission of Women.

After their intervention and spending six hours at the police station, a first information report (FIR) was filed on Thursday.

“It took me six hours to file an FIR of identity theft and sexual harassment,” she said.

Shashikumar Mina, deputy commissioner of police, zone 6, he said he will look into it.

A complaint has been registered against unidentified person under Indian Penal Code section 509 and relevant sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act.