UP Man Poses As Female Doctor On Social Media, Obtains Private Pics Of Woman

A man allegedly posing as a female doctor on social media lured a woman by promising to help her lose weight and become "slim-fit", obtained her photographs in fewer clothes on the pretext of treatment and then threatened to circulate them online, police said on Friday.

The accused, identified as Himanshu Tayal alias Shami, has been arrested.

He allegedly used a fraudulent Facebook profile in the name of a woman doctor to contact the victim and gain her confidence, Superintendent of Police Vishwajeet Srivastava said.

"He told her that she appeared quite overweight, but could be made slim-fit and asked her to send photographs in fewer clothes for the purpose," Srivastava said.

When the woman hesitated, the accused allegedly told her, "I am also a woman and a doctor. Why be shy in front of a doctor?" "After being reassured, the victim shared some photographs in fewer clothes with him," the SP said.

The accused subsequently allegedly threatened to circulate the photographs on social media and kill the woman's son, and extorted Rs 5.20 lakh from her at different times, police said. The victim's family alleged that he was demanding another Rs 10 lakh.

The SP said the accused was arrested near Bahraich railway station on September 17 following a complaint lodged by the woman's husband at Dargah Shareef police station on September 16.

Police recovered two mobile phones from him, in which the victim's photographs were allegedly found, besides Rs 1 lakh in cash.

Another Rs 1.50 lakh was recovered from his house on his information, they said.

Police also seized an HF Deluxe Plus motorcycle, a Daikin 1.5-ton inverter air conditioner and a Samsung LED television allegedly purchased with the extorted money. Bills related to the purchases were also recovered, police said.

The case was registered under Sections 308(extortion) and 351 (criminal intimidation), among others, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and police are examining the fake social media profile, mobile phones and other technical evidence.

Srivastava said cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and relating to theft had also been registered against the accused in 2012.

The accused has been produced before a court, police said, adding that further investigation was underway. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)