Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct.7: A 19-year-old IIT student from Bihar was arrested on Thursday for reportedly stalking female students and staff at a prestigious Delhi school and posting their morphed photos on social media.
Mahavir, a Patna native, is a B.tech student at IIT-Kharagpur. He allegedly harassed around 50 female students and teachers at a prestigious institution in north Delhi, according to the police. They claimed that Mahavir contacted the victims using bogus caller ID applications and virtual numbers on WhatsApp. He also used a voice changer programme to conceal his identity.
According to the authorities, he used modified images of the victims on fake Instagram accounts he created using their identities.
The incident came to light after the school administration received a report about online stalking on Wednesday. The accused, according to the complaint, tracked minor females on social media and sent them WhatsApp messages. He bothered the professors by calling them from several overseas lines.
According to the complaint, the IIT student joined WhatsApp groups for online classes and also entered in the sessions. Several modified images of school children were disseminated on social media platforms by him.
A case was filed under section 354-D (stalking) of the Indian Penal Code at Civil Lines police station and the district’s cyber cell unit was enlisted for technical assistance. Later, relevant sections of the POCSO Act and IT Act were added to the case, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (North), Sagar Singh Kalsi.
The police questioned the youngsters, their parents, and their teachers as part of the inquiry.
According to police, the offender used 33 WhatsApp virtual numbers, five Instagram profiles, and made multiple calls using false caller ID software.
“Our team analysed details of IP logs of WhatsApp, Instagram and fake mail ID used for creating social media accounts and identified the accused as Mahavir. He was then traced to Patna in Bihar from where he was arrested,” DCP Kalsi said.
The police discovered that the accused had contacted one of the victims three years ago and had been stalking and harassing her since then.
“Mahavir is a B. Tech student at one of the IITs. He made contact with one of the school’s pupils and began messaging her classmates on Instagram and other social media sites. He used applications to stalk and harass minor girls since he knew how to use them,” added the DCP.
Several indecent movies and images were also discovered on the accused’s phone. Police has seized his mobile and laptop for further investigation.
