Man arrested for blackmailing former girlfriend

A 29-year-old man has been arrested in Jajpur district for allegedly blackmailing his former girlfriend and uploading pictures of their intimate moments on social media, police said on Monday.

Jitendra Kumar Malik of Kalan village was arrested on Sunday on the basis of a complaint lodged by the 24-year-old woman, said Manoj Kumar Swain, Inspector-in-Charge of Kuakhia police station.

The woman said in her complaint that the man was in a relationship with her for the last few months.

"During the period, Malik had clicked a few intimate photographs featuring me, without my knowledge," she said in the complaint.

Malik was threatening the woman to upload her photos on the social media after she broke up with him recently, Swain said.

The woman had severed the relationship after he refused to marry her, the police officer said.

The accused then opened a fake Facebook account and uploaded a few obscene pictures of the victim to take revenge on her, he said.

When the photos went viral on the social media, one of her relatives saw them and brought it to the notice of the woman's family, following which a complaint was lodged with the Kuakhia police on Saturday.

Based on the complaint, police registered a case against Malik under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology (IT) Act.

Police arrested the accused from his residence and seized the mobile phone used in the crime.