Representative Image of cyber-crime.
Credit: iStock Photo
A ‘childhood sweetheart’ resurfaced to threaten a 23-year-old woman with alleged naked pictures and videos of her. He was promptly apprehended by the police and later released on bail.
The suspect, Vijay Daniel, a 24-year-old unemployed man from Bengaluru rural district, made a desperate attempt to win back his childhood sweetheart by threatening her with a nude video he had recorded years ago during a video call.
When Daniel intimidated her by vowing to harm her family if she ignored him, the girl filed a police complaint, leading to Daniel’s arrest. However, there is a twist to the story. Police couldn’t find any naked pictures or videos of the girl. Investigations revealed that he was bluffing, and there was no evidence to support his claims.
They were classmates
Daniel and the girl had studied together in a private school in Laggere. They were in the same class in the 8th grade in 2016, where they became friends and eventually entered into a relationship. They dated for several years and took pictures together.
When everything seemed fine, Daniel asked the girl to undress during a video call, which she initially refused. He allegedly insisted that she undress, threatening to share their pictures with her family if she refused. Fearing backlash, she reluctantly undressed for him, and he allegedly recorded the act.
After this incident, the girl distanced herself from him, but his harassment continued. Last year, he allegedly threatened to share the recording he had made during their video call with her family and demanded that she sleep with him to prevent it.
An officer overseeing the case mentioned that after Daniel’s demand for intimacy, the girl approached the Madanayakanahalli police and requested a warning for Daniel without registering a formal case.
After the police issued the warning, Daniel kept his distance for a while. However, on January 6, he called the girl again, demanding that she reconcile with him.
The officer informed DH that they thoroughly searched Daniel’s phone, but nothing incriminating was found. Nevertheless, the case revolves around threats and criminal intimidation, leading to his arrest. The investigation continues as they cannot dismiss the possibility of the video’s existence merely because it wasn’t found on his phone, the officer added.
Daniel has been booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty, voyeurism, and criminal intimidation.