India News | Man Arrested in Lucknow for Posing as Woman, Luring Minor Girls into Sending Him Obscene Videos

New Delhi, Aug 31 (PTI) A 23-year-old man was arrested from Lucknow for allegedly posing as a woman on Instagram, using a fake profile and luring minor girls into sending their obscene pictures and videos to him, police said on Tuesday.

The accused identified as Abdul Samad, an air-conditioner mechanic, was arrested using technical surveillance from Lucknow, they said, adding that he used to initiate conversations with teenage children and watch their obscene photographs and videos.

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Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Atul Kumar Thakur said, "Our team from Fatehpur Beri police station apprehended Abdul Samad from his house in Lucknow and recovered his smart mobile phone containing the details of many girls and their obscene videos and photos."

The matter came to light after a complaint was received on August 27 from a 15-year-old victim, who was also targeted by the accused in the same manner, the police said.

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During the course of the investigation, notices were sent to Whatsapp and Instagram to get the details of mobile numbers and Instagram IDs used by the accused, said the senior police officer.

Based on those details, the team managed to trace the accused from Lucknow and during interrogation, the accused disclosed that he represented himself as a woman to start conversations with a teenage girls, he said.

"He had keen interest in internet-based social sites, and he used to learn about it from Youtube. He had also learnt about some other applications like 'Text Now', wherein he used to send messages and made video calls to girls through international numbers. He has also represented himself as an NRI from Canada," Thakur said.

"When the girls used to send him their obscene videos and photos, he blackmailed them and also circulated those. He has multiple Instagram IDs. He used to keep on making new Instagram IDs, so that his IDs could not be traced," the officer added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)