The couple was in a romantic virtual relationship for three years during which they exchanged private photographs and videos. The boyfriend then used the very same photographs and videos to blackmail the woman. With the threat to publicize the materials through Facebook and YouTube, and also to send it to her family members, he extracted money from her for six months.
As the incessant demands for money did not stop, the woman filed a complaint with the police a month ago. However, she had already paid him Rs 1.2 million.
Based on the complaint, Nepal Police’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Kundan Shrestha, 26, last Friday. The police have confiscated the woman’s photographs, videos and Skype chat descriptions from his computer.
Shrestha, who is from Morang, has been brought to the capital and the Metropolitan Police to be booked under the Cyber Crime Act, informs Bureau Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Uttam Bahadur Karki.
According to an investigative officer, Shrestha previously worked in Dubai. The investigating officer also stated that Shrestha would form relationships with young women on Facebook and blackmail them for money with the private pictures acquired from them.
The woman, a resident of Kathmandu, has stated that she was really in love with Shrestha and also that she was under the impression that he reciprocated her love. Although they met a couple of times, they communicated mostly via Facebook and Skype. Shrestha had asked for her semi-nude photographs after winning the heart of the young woman.
The investigating officer explained, “The lady started providing him with the kinds of pictures he wanted. It seems he had also recorded their sensitive Skype video conversations.” He also added that the first two and a half years of the relationship was smooth and it was only in the latter six months that Shrestha had started blackmailing her.
Speaking to the police, the woman said, “Initially, I thought he needed money. So I helped him. It was only later when he started threatening me that I realized that I was trapped.”
Shrestha has also acknowledged in his statement given to the police that he established the relationship with the intention of collecting such photographs and videos and extracting money from the woman later.
SSP Karki said that in recent times the misuse of communication technology has increased, putting a lot of young men and women at risk.
“With the increasing use of social media, there’s also been an increasing trend in using it as a medium for criminal activities. Many such cases never make it to our offices. And because the main servers of YouTube and Facebook aren’t in Nepal, the investigation process is complicated.”
He says that users have to be alert and aware in order to avoid being entangled in cyber crime and also advices that guardians keep a close watch on their children’s online facilities.
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