Telangana man held by Mumbai police for sending obscene messages, photos to women

MUMBAI: The Mumbai police's crime branch has arrested a 29-year-old man from Telangana for allegedly harassing women by sending them obscene messages and photographs on WhatsApp, an official said on Wednesday.

The crime branch's Unit-9 nabbed Mohammed Irfan Mohammed Iqbal Shaikh, a resident of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, from Jangaon in Telangana, the official said.

The matter came to light, when one of the victims lodged a complaint at Amboli police station last week stating that an unidentified person was sending her obscene messages and photographs on WhatsApp, he said.

An offence under section 354A (sexual harassment) of the IPC and relevant provisions of the IT Act was subsequently registered, he said.

During the probe, the accused was first traced to Gulbarga in Karnataka and later to Jangaon in Telangana, the official said.

On interrogation, Shaikh told the police that he had sent such messages and photographs on WhatsApp to other women as well, he said, adding that the accused has been handed over to Amboli police for further investigation.