Thrissur: Police have registered a case under the Information Technology (IT) Act against a 25-year-old man from Chovannur in Kunnamkulam for allegedly morphing and circulating photographs of several women on social media. The accused surrendered before the police, following which his arrest was formally recorded. He will be produced before a court on Saturday after detailed interrogation.
The accused has been identified as Ananthu (25), a native of Chovannur. Kunnamkulam Police registered the case under Sections 66A and 66E of the Information Technology Act.
The case came to light after a friend of the complainant noticed a morphed image of the young woman circulating on social media and alerted her. She subsequently lodged a complaint with the police.
As suspicion grew, local residents reportedly stopped the accused and examined his mobile phone. They allegedly discovered thousands of morphed images of around 70 women belonging to nearly 40 families in the locality stored on the device.
Meanwhile, the police have come under criticism for invoking Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, a provision that was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015. The other section included in the FIR is bailable.
The complainants have alleged that the inclusion of the defunct provision and the use of a bailable offence amount to an attempt to shield the accused. They also accused the police of adopting a lackadaisical approach in handling the woman’s complaint.
