Man in Cachar uses multiple women's identity to share vulgar posts on social media, beaten up by victims

“Privacy is a myth” and when it comes to the digital world it’s just an illusion. Using someone else’s photos and pretending to be them is very common on social media platforms. This gameplay of identity leads to the extortion of money, defaming someone’s name and the like. Identity theft is on the rise and even though privacy walls are raising every day, scammers don’t fail to find open windows in the walls. One such incident has in the Cachar district’s Kalain area. Many including housewives and young women have become victims of identity theft online. Even when FIR to the police couldn’t get them help, they managed to catch the person, forging their identity and he faced the wrath of the enraged victims.

He was beaten by jhadu (broom), sandals and blows and later handed over to the Kalain Police. This incident happened in the Barotaili Village of Kalain where the alleged scammer, Sumon Ray of the same village used pictures of the women of the village and made fake Facebook profiles in their name. He also used the photos and pretended to be them on WhatsApp.

According to one victim there, “He has made a fake profile in my name and has been sharing vulgar posts and captions from that profile. He also contacted people who know me, from that profile and defamed me. This has even reached me and my family and has resulted in turbulence in my marital life”.

Another victim, who filed an FIR before said, “Last August I filed an FIR showing that my identity was forged on Facebook, but no action was taken against this. Today somehow we got hold of the criminal and handed him over to the police. It is not just about two or three women, he has done so with more than 10 of us. We demand strict punishment of this criminal and justice for all of us. We know there are three others involved along with him. If the police can’t take any measures, they can hand him over to us and we will take action as we wish”. Last night, the alleged culprit was handed over to the police after mass thrashing. An FIR was also lodged by them with the Kalain Police.