Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch has arrested eight people and initiated legal action against three minors after nine cases of online harassment, fake social media profiles, blackmail and digital defamation targeting women surfaced within a month.
The action was taken under “Mission Cyber Rakshika”, Ahmedabad Police’s initiative focused on protecting women from cyber stalking, impersonation and other forms of online abuse. The accused were traced across Ahmedabad, other parts of Gujarat and Maharashtra through technical analysis of social media accounts, police said.
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Garba Videos Edited and Posted With Obscene Remarks
One of the cases involved videos of women performing Garba during Navratri.
Police said three minors from Sabarkantha and Bhavnagar allegedly obtained the videos, edited them and uploaded the content on Instagram with objectionable remarks. The accounts were allegedly created using their parents’ mobile numbers.
Investigators believe the motive was to attract more followers and likes.
The case shows how ordinary photographs and videos posted during festivals can be downloaded, altered and circulated outside their original context without the person’s consent.
Fake Profiles Used to Settle Personal Scores
Several of the other cases investigated under the mission involved fake Instagram and Facebook accounts allegedly created to embarrass or defame women.
In one case, an accused allegedly created a fake Instagram account using a woman’s photograph and contacted her husband’s friends while pretending to be her. Objectionable photographs were also allegedly posted through the account.
Another case allegedly began after a personal dispute involving a vehicle collision. Police said the accused later circulated content falsely claiming that a woman was involved in an intimate relationship in an apparent attempt to damage her reputation.
In a separate case, a man allegedly used a fake account to send objectionable material to a woman’s sister after differences developed between him and the complainant following an earlier relationship.
Police also investigated an allegation involving a woman accused of creating a fake Instagram profile in the name of a female colleague because of a workplace-related personal grudge.
Obscene Content Allegedly Sent to Woman’s Fiancé
One accused allegedly attempted to disrupt a woman’s engagement after she refused to marry him.
Police said a fake Instagram account was created without her consent and objectionable photographs were allegedly sent to her fiancé.
The alleged tactic was designed to make the material appear as though it had come from the woman herself or reflected her actual online activity. Investigators say impersonation accounts are increasingly being used not merely for financial fraud but also for revenge, intimidation and reputational attacks.
Woman Allegedly Lost ₹1.21 Lakh After Blackmail
One of the nine cases also involved financial exploitation.
According to police, a man contacted a woman through Instagram and allegedly pressured her to enter into a physical relationship. When she refused, he allegedly threatened to defame her and demanded ₹2 lakh.
The accused later allegedly claimed that he regretted his actions and persuaded her to pay money for a supposed religious ritual.
Police said the woman transferred ₹21,000 through Google Pay and was then allegedly made to withdraw another ₹1 lakh from an ATM in Ahmedabad’s Prahladnagar area and hand it over to him.
The alleged loss totalled ₹1.21 lakh.
Mission Cyber Rakshika Expands Crackdown
Ahmedabad Police launched Mission Cyber Rakshika earlier this year to address online offences targeting women.
The420.in previously reported cases investigated under the initiative, including the arrest of a Delhi-based religious preacher accused of creating multiple fake profiles and more than 100 allegedly AI-generated obscene images and videos using photographs of an Ahmedabad woman and her relatives.
The latest action is broader. Instead of a single complaint, police have disclosed nine separate FIRs registered within approximately one month and action against 11 people, including three minors.
Police said women officers counselled complainants and their identities were kept confidential during the investigation.
The Cyber Crime Branch is also monitoring social media platforms for fake profiles and objectionable content targeting women and children.
What This Means for You
Photographs and videos uploaded on public social media accounts can be copied within seconds and reused to create fake profiles, manipulated posts or defamatory content.
Women who discover impersonation accounts should preserve screenshots, profile links, usernames, messages and other digital evidence before reporting the account. Immediately deleting conversations or blocking an offender without saving evidence can make it harder to establish what happened later.
Users should also review who can view, download or interact with their posts and avoid accepting unfamiliar accounts simply because they appear to know mutual contacts.
Threats involving intimate photographs, edited videos or reputational harm should not be handled by paying the person demanding money. Victims can report cyber offences through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal or call 1930 when financial fraud is involved.
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