Police in Bengaluru have arrested 28-year-old Rahul Singh, the CEO of a Bengaluru-based startup for allegedly posting obscene photographs of his former girlfriend on Instagram. The arrest was made on Thursday after the accused was booked under various sections of the Information Technology Act based on a complaint.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Bengaluru SouthEast Isha Pant confirmed the arrest and said the accused would be produced in court on Friday.
The sections are related to punishment for violation of privacy and transmiting images of a private persons without his/her consent. Police have also seized his laptop and mobile phone.
Rahul posted these photos despite the police filing an FIR against him on September 12 on the woman's complaint that he was stalking her and broke into her house. Her complaint at HSR Layout Police also accused Rahul of acessing her Facebook without her permission, and stealing her phone.
In that case Rahul was booked under relevant sections of Information Technology Act and sections 354A (punishment for sexual harassment), 507 (criminal intimidation by anonymous communication), 506 (criminal intimidation), 354D (punishment for stalking), 448 (punishment for house-trespass) and 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace) of the IPC.
The complainant speaking to TNM had alleged that the police were initially reluctant to take action and she had to meet the jurisdictional DCP twice for the police to even register an FIR.
She had also alleged that the accused’s father who holds an influential central government job called her mother and said that he would not be responsible for the repercussions of the FIR, after which the complainant approached the Commissioner of Police.
Speaking to TNM, the lawyer of the complainant, said, “There is fear about her life and liberty in spite of her lodging complaint before HSR Police Station. They have taken her complaint very lightly as the accused father is very influential, they were not ready to acknowledge and act according to her complaint. It is only after the direction of DCP as an empty formality they have registered the case. There is a constant and continuous threat. The accused has been never mended his behaviour because of the money and power of his father.”