Thiruvananthapuram: A 25-year-old man was arrested for molesting a girl from Kollam, after calling her to a lodge.
The SHO of Thampanoor police station said that the accused was arrested on Saturday and a magisterial court remanded him to 14 days judicial custody on the same day.
The man has been identified as Vineet, a resident of Vellallur in Chirayinkeezhu. Reportedly, Vineet befriended the woman on social media under the pretence of giving her tips on how to gain a following on her own social media account.
Inspector of Police Prakash R said that the accused had asked the woman -- a college student whom he met on another famous social networking site and with whom he was in a relationship for a few weeks -- to come along to buy a car and on the way he took a room in a lodge to refresh himself.
At the lodge, he allegedly misbehaved with the woman and then they went to buy the car, the officer said.
The woman, disturbed by what had happened, asked his friends about him and they told her that he has been in numerous illegal relationships with women and was not a trustworthy person, the police said.
Subsequently, she lodged a complaint with police, the officer said and added that the mobile phone belonging to the accused allegedly revealed numerous compromising videos of women.
Police were investigating the matter further to ascertain whether he used the visuals to blackmail or extort his victims for money or any other favours.
Giving details of his modus operandi, the officer said that the accused, who has lakhs of followers on a popular short-video hosting platform, allegedly got close to his victims including married women, on the pretext of giving tips on how to be popular on social media.
Thereafter, he would allegedly record their private or intimate moments on his phone, the officer said, adding that his mobile phone has been sent to the Cyber Cell for retrieving any content that he may have deleted.
Besides that, he would also allegedly obtain his victims' email ids and passwords through emotional blackmails and if they ever failed to respond to his calls, he would spread false stories about them through their emails, the officer said.
Apart from the instant case, the accused is also facing charges of causing hurt and theft in two other police stations in the state capital, the officer said.
The officer also said that the accused looks different in real life when compared to his online videos.
Vineet is a popular influencer on social media. He gained a wide following through his videos on TikTok.
This was before the short video platform was banned by India government.
He then moved to other social media platforms. It was on Instagram, another TikTok variant, where he befriended the complainant.
(With inputs from PTI)
