Kolkata: A man Saurav Santra alias Rahul, was arrested by the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police for allegedly blackmailing a homemaker, creating fake social media profiles using her private photographs and sending her intimate pictures to her husband after she rejected his demand for physical intimacy, officers said on Monday.
The arrest followed a complaint lodged by the woman at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station on May 25 this year. Police said the accused,allegedly subjected the woman to months of online harassment, intimidation and defamation after she severed all contact with him.
According to investigators, the woman came into contact with the accused through Facebook in Jan 2025. The two developed an online friendship over the next few months. However, the relationship turned sour when the accused allegedly proposed physical intimacy. The woman refused his advances, blocked him on Facebook and cut off all communication.
“The rejection triggered a sustained campaign of online harassment. The accused allegedly created two fake Facebook accounts impersonating the victim and uploaded her private photographs that had reportedly been captured without her consent,” said a senior officer.
Investigators alleged that the accused then demanded that the woman send him more explicit photographs. When she refused, he allegedly began blackmailing her through Messenger and threatened to circulate the images publicly. As part of the intimidation, he allegedly forwarded the objectionable photographs to the woman’s husband.
The woman repeatedly requested the accused to delete the fake social media profiles and remove the photographs. Instead, he allegedly threatened to upload more obscene and defamatory material on various social media platforms if she failed to comply with his demands.
“After receiving the complaint, we registered a case and launched a detailed digital investigation. Technical analysis and electronic evidence helped us identify the accused, who was subsequently arrested,” the officer said.
Another investigating officer said police had seized digital devices from the accused and were examining them to ascertain whether similar offences had been committed against other women.