Engineering student held for FB blackmail scam

The Patna police have nabbed an engineering student on the charge of creating many fake accounts on social networking site Facebook and using them to 'blackmail' college girls.

Patna city SP Jayant Kant said Bipin Bharati, a B Tech student of Institute of Engineering and Industrial Technology in Durgapur (West Bengal), was arrested in Patna late on Wednesday night and sent to jail on Thursday.

"We have also seized a laptop belonging to Bharati. Its contents are being examined to unravel the full extent of his mischief," the city SP told HT.

Police said the Bharat's misdeeds came to light following a case lodged on July 27 by Satyendra Kumar, a resident of Mahatma Gandhi Nagar under the Agamkuan police station area of Patna.

In his complaint, Kumar said Bharati had created a fake facebook account in the name of his daughter and was 'blackmailing' her by frequently sending her threatening SMSes.

He also told the police that the accused had tried to snatch his daughter's scooty while she was on her way to Magadh Mahila College, a leading girl's college in Patna.

Acting on the complaint, the police constituted a special police team to apprehend the accused. A woman police officer was deputed to accompany the girl during college hours.

"When the accused called the girl on her cell phone on Wednesday, she asked him to come at a spot in the Mahatma Gandhi Nagar for a meeting. When the accused reached there, the special police team nabbed him", said an officer.

The accused was taken to the Agamkuan police station where he "spilled the beans" during his interrogation.

An official privy to the interrogation said Bharati told the police he used to stand in front of leading girls' colleges of Patna and used to take pictures of girls with their boyfriends.

"He used to blackmail them by threatening to publish these photos on the Facebook accounts. He admitted to collecting extortion money in this manner from many girls, including daughters of senior officials and businessmen," said the Patna City SP.

Kant said Bharati had been booked for threatening and blackmailing girls.