11 June,2018 05:50 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
A 33-year-old man was arrested for sexually harrassing a 30-year-old Govandi-based woman by sending her obscene videos and messgaes. The 33-year-old accused, identified as Firoz Baluch, was arrested from Veraval, a village in Gujarat's Gir Somnath, after an eight-month long investigation by the Govandi police.
The accused, who is a businessman by profession, would save random numbers on his cell phone and using the messaging app Whatsapp, look at the display pictures of women. He would then harass and send explicit messages to women whose pictures he found attractive.
Following this modus operandi, Baluch started messaging the complainant in October 2017. When she stopped replying, the accused started sending her disturbing messages. Based on her complaint, an FIR was lodged against the accused under sections 54 (A), 354 (D) and 509 of the Indian Penal Code for sexual harassment, stalking and section 67 (A) of the Information Technology Act.
During the course of their investigation, the Govandi police traced Baluch's number to Altaf Hala. A report in the Hindustan Times quoted Sub Inspector Suraj Gaikwad as having stated, "Hala told us that he had lost his SIM card. When we checked the WhatsApp status of the same number and found that the user of the number was online, which proved Hala was not lying. We got the first clue when we learnt that he used the same number to call a photocopy shop owner for some work. When the police questioned the owner in Veraval, Gujarat, he said the number belongs to Baluch, who stayed nearby. Baluch was then arrested on June 5, from Veraval, and was brought to Mumbai."
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The HT report further quotes Gaikwad as having added, "When he was asked how he got the number of the woman, he claimed that he used to save random numbers on his mobile phone. Then he used to see the DP of the number owners on the WhatsApp. Once he found any DP attractive, he would send them messages." Baluch is currently out on bail.
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