Bhubaneswar: A software engineer was arrested from Bhubaneswar in Odisha on Tuesday on charges of ‘revenge pornography’ against his former girlfriend. The 28-year-old allegedly circulated her morphed images on social media platforms to teach her a lesson.
The police have said that the accused Sumit Dash, a resident of Bhadrak, worked at an IT firm in Bengaluru. The 24-year-old complainant also works in the IT sector, but at Bhubaneswar. The two have known each other for 4-5 years.
“The two were in a relationship. Later, the woman broke up with him for some reason. Dash then demanded Rs 10 lakh from her. When she refused, he circulated her morphed photographs to embarrass her and her family,” DCP Jagmohan Meena told the media.
“After she refused to pay, the accused edited some of her photographs, created some fake accounts on social media in her name, and circulated them. This was clearly an attempt to defame her. All of this started in October 2024,” Meena added.
On coming to know of the fake accounts, the woman lodged a complaint at the Cyber Crime and Economic Offences (CCEO) police station in Bhubaneswar on April 10.
Dash was initially warned by the police after which he removed the fake social media accounts. However, he resumed his malicious activities soon thereafter and created more fake accounts.
The DCP said that the police have collected all digital footprints and other necessary evidence against Dash. He has been charged with identity theft, impersonation and publishing obscene and explicit content to damage a person’s social standing.
Dash was denied bail and is now in judicial custody. The police have assured to file a chargesheet against him soon.
