Hyderabad: Revenge-based harassment cases on the rise

HYDERABAD: Cases of revenge-based harassment, wherein victims are troubled by a former friend or lover have been on the rise in the city. Apart for the She-Teams, cyber crime cops have also been receiving around ten such cases every month where women have complained of being stalked or harassed by a former acquaintance.
In August, a dentist working at a private clinic was booked by Rachakonda police for stalking a 22-year-old housewife.It was found that the accused and the woman had been friends but the former got upset after the victim got married to someone else.
“In most cases of cyber harassment and stalking, the offender tries to take revenge after the victim refuses to accept their proposal or it is a case of revenge after a break-up. This has become common for offenders to circulate morphed pictures of the victim to blackmail,” said Rachakonda ACP (cyber crime), S Harinath.
“The victims just want police to warn the offender so that they stop bothering them. Therefore, if the cases are not very severe in nature, offenders are booked under petty case or warned and let off,” said a source from the She-Team. If the cases are severe, the team refers them to local police stations or the cyber crime cell.
In another case, a 22-year-old businessman was arrested for hacking his ex-girlfriend’s Instagram account and posting morphed pictures of her. The victim, an IT professional and the accused, had both studied in the same college in the city and were close friends for a brief time. Following a dispute between the two, they had stopped communication. However, bearing a grudge against the victim, the accused hacked into her social media accounts apart her e-mail accounts and uploaded their private photos which were clicked when they were close.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)