A 24-year-old Telegram predator from Ampara allegedly blackmailed young women using fake nude images. CID arrest follows a brave victim’s complaint.
The horrifying reality that technology can plunge young lives into a dark abyss has once again been exposed as a 24 year old Telegram predator who hunted young women’s nudity was finally caught. The suspect, who allegedly hid on the internet and forcibly obtained sexual photographs from tuition class students and young women via the Telegram social media network, was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department, revealing the roots of this tragedy. Police have confirmed that the suspect, a resident of the Ampara area who studied mathematics at the Advanced Level, has a good understanding of technology.
His modus operandi was both meticulous and cruel. He would find young women’s phone numbers through various Telegram groups, initially engaging them in very friendly conversation. He would then artificially edit their ordinary photographs into nude images and send them back to the victims, issuing a severe threat. Many young women became helpless under the mental harassment, where he threatened to release the fake nude images on the internet unless they provided real sexual photographs in the poses he demanded. However, questions remain about how many victims silently suffered before one brave voice emerged.
A complaint by a 20 year old young woman from the Bibila area, who bravely faced this threat, became the decisive turning point that dismantled this network. Following a lengthy operation launched by the Eastern Province Unit of the Computer Crime Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department, the suspect was caught in the net of the law on the 30th.
When officers examined his mobile phone, they discovered nude photographs of twelve helpless young women stored on just one Telegram account. Furthermore, with over 700 phone numbers of other young women recorded on his phone, which maintained three accounts, it provides a terrifying indication of the true scale of his victims. What happens next could be critical as investigators continue to trace potential victims across the country. It has now been revealed that he had even carried out similar threats just a week before his arrest.
This criminal roamed social media like an invisible ghost. His accounts had no real name or photograph, and even the phone number he used could not be called by anyone from outside. How many more young women silently endure this mental torture due to fear and shame of social stigma is a cause of serious concern even for senior police officers. This investigation, launched on the instructions of the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shani Abeysekara, might have seen many more lives destroyed without the contribution of a team including Chief Police Inspector Karunaratne and Sub Inspector Diwanjana.
The suspect has now been remanded for a period of 14 days by the Bibila Magistrate’s Court. However, the scars left on the minds of teenage girls who were harassed online, even in the isolation of their own bedrooms, can never be erased. This raises concerns about whether current laws and awareness campaigns are sufficient to protect vulnerable youth from such predators hiding behind digital anonymity.
