Delhi man held for creating fake FB profile to harass friend’s employer

During the interrogation, the man said that he wanted to settle a score with the boutique owner for scolding his friend for stealing dresses from the boutique and frequently reprimanding her thereafter

Enraged because his friend was “reprimanded and humiliated” by her employer for stealing clothes from her boutique, a 25-year-old man created a fake social media profile of the boutique owner, “projecting her as a sex worker” and uploaded the woman and her mother’s cellphone number, police said on Friday after arresting the man.

Senior police officers said that the boutique owner and her mother were flooded by inappropriate calls. As the frequency of such calls increased, the boutique owner approached the police and filed a complaint.

A case of sexual harassment was registered at the Greater Kailash police station and its investigation led to the arrest of the friend of a 24-year-old woman employed in the boutique. The arrested man has been identified only his by first name as Suraj alias Shivam, a resident of Jahangirpuri who is working in a private firm, said deputy commissioner of police (south) Atul Kumar Thakur.

“During the interrogation, Suraj told us (police) that he wanted to settle a score with the boutique owner for scolding his friend for stealing dresses from the boutique and frequently reprimanding her thereafter,” said DCP Thakur.

According to the police, Suraj had met and befriended the 24-year-old woman on social media around two years ago. Before the lockdown, the woman’s employer (the boutique owner) caught her stealing in the shop.

“The owner scolded her but did not report the theft to the police. The matter was settled amicably,” said DCP Thakur, adding that when the woman’s friend learnt about it, he decided to harass her employer.

“He created a fake social media account (on Facebook) and uploaded some obscene pictures along with mobile numbers of the owner and her mother,” he added.

DCP Thakur said they are probing the role of Suraj’s friend to ascertain if she was aware the fake social media profile he had created.