Gurugram: Man held for stalking Telugu actress

NEW DELHI: A 26-year old man, employed in Gurugram, has been arrested for stalking and threatening to kill a Telugu film actress after she ignored his posts on social media. The actress, who was earlier staying with her family in outer Delhi’s Rohini, told police that the man had been constantly sending her messages on Instagram, often creating a fake account to track her when she ignored his entreaties. The accused also sent the actress a picture of a pistol, aimed at frightening her.
The cops disclosed that accused Nikhil Gangwar, a Rohini resident, is a research chemist with a firm in Gurugram. He had been following the actress on social media since 2016 and was madly in love with her. The accused had even proposed marriage to her several times.
“He created several fake accounts and messaged her using these,” a police officer revealed. “The victim had blocked one of the accounts, and he responded with a picture of a pistol and a message saying, ‘See this pistol. If you don’t respond to me, I will kill you’. The victim sent an e-mail to police on July 14 informing us about the threat messages. She shared a screenshot of the messages.”
The cops filed a case against Gangwar for stalking and criminal intimidation while also invoking provisions of the Information Technology Act.
Gangwar has a master’s degree in science from a college in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, and is currently employed with a firm in Gurugram. During interrogation, the accused told the cops that he was aware that the actress’s parents resided in Rohini. In fact, he admitted that he had once reached Rohini intending to find out where she resided and successfully identified her house.
The police officer said, “Since he had asked people in the locality to confirm if it was the actress’s house, they informed the family about his enquiries. The actress was not at home because she mostly lives outside Delhi. It was only during the lockdown that she was staying with her parents.”
Police recognised the risks posed to the woman by the enamoured Gangwar, who had ascertained the house in which she lived. As for the threat that he would shoot her, the cops revealed that a search did not yield any firearm from the possession of Gangwar.