In an incident of online harassment, a 24-year-old man in Kolkata has been held by the police after a complaint was filed against him for making sexually explicit rape threats.
Agniswar Chakraborty, the accused, had allegedly been stalking the victim for some time, as he chose a 27-week-old profile picture to comment on.
The victim, who is currently studying in Australia, had lodged the complaint with the police via their Facebook page.
A Change.org petition addressed to Kolkata High Court, and demanding strict punishment for Chakraborty was filed. The petition, which seeks to “set an example once and for all” for having made such graphic threats, has already been signed by approximately 29,000 people; the intended target is 35,000.
The incident received widespread attention on social media, with many expressing disgust over the perpetrator’s comments.
Social media lauded the Kolkata police after they announced on Twitter that they have arrested Chakraborty and that criminal proceedings have been initiated as well.
Users reiterated the demands of the Change.org petition, asking for strict action against Chakraborty to deter others like him.
Chakraborty is allegedly a compulsive stalker, and that the incident is not an isolated one as he has stalked girls in the past. The police said that a few friends had claimed he had stalked other girls on social networking sites and bullied several others. An officer said that the veracity of such claims is currently being looked into.
The IT Act (2008) deems such comments on an online medium to be a criminal offence punishable with a three-year prison term and a fine at the first instance itself.
(With inputs from The Times of India.)
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