Mumbai: Searching for a rented flat on a public group on social media proved to be a virtual nightmare for a 27-year-old marketing executive from Gujarat, as she was subjected to cyber sexual harassment by a man posing as a flat-owner. She then complained, tagging Mumbai Police on Twitter and was asked to lodge a complaint at the nearest police station. However, she is yet to lodge a complaint in Vadodara.

The woman was posting on a Facebook group which connects youngsters looking for rooms to rent without brokerage, as she was planning to return to Mumbai in December, having worked from home during the pandemic. She said, “I had contacted a few people and enquired about a single-occupancy room for rent in the western suburbs. I received a message from a man whose profile identified him as Akshay Singh, who asked if I was still on the lookout for a flat. When I replied in the affirmative, he sent a few pictures and videos of a flat, which he claimed was his.”

After this, he first asked for her mobile number for communication purposes, enquired about her workplace and then offered to let her stay rent-free if she agreed to get intimate with him. Horrified, the woman stopped replying to Singh’s messages. But the matter did not end there. Singh then threatened to create a fake account in her name, publicise her phone number as a sex worker and defame her on social media.

“I was taken aback and blocked him after 20 minutes. I posted an account of the incident on Twitter, sharing the screenshot in question while tagging @MumbaiPolice. Soon, police replied and enquired about the details and suggested that I approach the local police station in Gujarat with the complaint. I will be soon submitting a complaint letter with the relevant screenshots along with his Facebook profile link,” the woman said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber) Dr Rashmi Karandikar said, “In such cases, the victim should immediately approach the local police station with a screenshot of the conversation. One can also tweet the matter by tagging the relevant police teams, as nowadays every police department has its own Twitter handle. Keeping local police stations and control room numbers handy also turns out to be helpful.”