Tamil Nadu, July 17: A 22-year-old B Tech-IT graduate from Erode, Tamil Nadu, was apprehended by the police for capturing photos and videos of women in public places, morphing them into explicit content, and selling them on Telegram groups. The arrest has prompted authorities to launch a drive to identify and apprehend others involved in similar activities within the city. The accused, identified as N M Arya, confessed to his crimes, citing financial difficulties as the motive behind his actions.

According to multiple reports, the case came to light when the south zone cybercrime police received a complaint from a resident of Adambakkam, who discovered that her pictures had been taken while shopping in T Nagar and subsequently morphed before being circulated online. The victim expressed deep distress and trauma caused by the incident. Inspector D Kavitha, leading the investigation, employed geo-location tracking techniques, which traced the origin of the morphed videos to Erode. With this information, a specialized team successfully apprehended Arya. Kanal Kannan, Kollywood Stunt Master, Arrested by TN Cyber Crime Police for Sharing Video Of Pastor Dancing With Woman.

During interrogation, Arya admitted to surreptitiously photographing and recording women in supermarkets, malls, and commercial centres without their knowledge. He then manipulated the content to create explicit material, which he distributed within Telegram groups. Access to these files required a password, and Arya charged his followers on the platform between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 per person. Tamil Nadu: Obscene Text and Voice Messages Sent to Customer Care Numbers in Coimbatore; Case Filed.

Explaining his motives, Arya stated that he resorted to these actions due to his financial constraints, as he had been unemployed for more than six months. The police seized a 2 terabyte (TB) hard disk from the accused, containing numerous images of women. Following the arrest, Arya was produced before a magistrate court, which remanded him to judicial custody.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 17, 2023 04:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).