Mumbai, July 31: A standup comedian from Bandra has filed a complaint against one of her Instagram followers for allegedly stalking her online and sending her email saying ‘I just want to hug you tightly and kiss you’. The follower, identified by the Instagram handle Shawn_d_Pillai, sent her a gift and emailed her father with inappropriate messages. The Bandra police registered an FIR on Monday and have begun investigating the matter.

According to an Indian Express report, the 28-year-old comedian, who has over 450,000 followers on Instagram, stated in her complaint that she received a follow request from the account Shawn_d_Pillai nearly two years ago. She did not accept the request due to the large number of such requests she receives. The user had been consistently following her Instagram activities. Mumbai: Man Stalks Social Media Executive for 7 Months Despite Police Warnings and Getting Thrashed by Crowd, Booked.

Two months ago, the comedian’s father began receiving emails from the address shawnpillai5@gmail.com. He initially ignored the emails and moved them to the spam folder. However, on July 27, he received a parcel from Amazon containing a purse, which he had not ordered. When he asked his daughter about the purse, she confirmed she had not ordered it either. Pune: Reprimanded for Stalking Minor Girl, Teenager and His Two Accomplices Set Her Father's Motorcycle Ablaze in Bavdhan; Arrested.

Growing suspicious, the comedian checked her father's email account and found an email from shawnpillai5@gmail.com that read, "##### (her name), I just want to hug you tightly and kiss you; it’s raining a lot and it’s cold too. I deserve warmth, right?"

Following this discovery, the comedian lodged a complaint with the Bandra police, who have registered a case under sections 67 (publishing and transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act and 78 (stalking) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The police are currently attempting to trace the alleged stalker by tracking the IP address used to send the emails.

Women and Child Helpline Numbers:

Childline India – 1098; Women’s Helpline – 181; National Commission for Women Helpline – 112; National Commission for Women Helpline Against Violence – 7827170170; Police Women / Senior Citizen Helpline – 1091/ 1291; Missing Child and Women – 1094.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2024 06:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).