Man arrested for creating employee’s fake Instagram profile to harass her

Police said Sahid was working at a small factory in Manesar at the time of the arrest. He was earlier engaged in small-scale production work where he employed the victim for a brief period. After a financial dispute with her, he resorted to creating fake social media content to harass and defame her.

According to police, a complaint was received on September 23 from the woman who reported that an unidentified person had created a fake Instagram account using her picture.

The accused allegedly uploaded obscene and abusive content and sent follow requests to her friends and followers in an attempt to malign her reputation. Following the complaint, a case under sections 78 (stalking), 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 319(2) (cheating by personation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered and an investigation was initiated.

During the probe, the police team traced the digital footprint of the fake profile and obtained crucial details from Instagram’s parent company Meta. According to police, technical surveillance revealed that the account was being operated from the IMT Manesar area.

After sustained efforts, the accused was apprehended on October 27.

“Upon questioning, he admitted to the crime. The accused disclosed that the victim was his former employee and had demanded pending payment from him. Out of annoyance and to defame her, he created a fake Instagram account using her old photo and uploaded obscene and defamatory content targeting her social reputation. The smartphone used in the commission of the offence was seized, and the fake Instagram account was found active on the device,” said DCP South West Amit Goel.

His digital devices are being examined to determine if he was involved in similar activities, said officers.

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