Bhubaneswar/Kendrapara: The ex-boyfriend of the 19-year-old woman, who died allegedly by setting herself on fire in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, was arrested Sunday on charges of abetment of suicide and sexual harassment, police said.
The woman’s charred body was found on the staircase of her house August 6, following which her father alleged that her ex-boyfriend shared their intimate videos online, which forced her to take her life.
The woman broke up with the accused, following which he started threatening to make public their intimate videos. As he sent the videos to different persons, including the woman’s father, she took her life, police said.
The woman’s family had also alleged that she sought the police’s help regarding the matter, but no action was taken.
The ex-boyfriend was booked under BNS sections 296 (obscene act), 75 (sexual harassment), 78 (stalking) and 108 (abetment of suicide), and sections 66-E and 67-A of the IT Act, Kendrapara SP Siddharth Kataria told reporters.
“There are at least 60 obscene videos in the mobile phone of the accused,” he said.
“The accused had sent one of the videos to the mobile phone of the deceased woman’s father July 17. He has also sent such videos to five-six other persons. He had sent a message to the deceased at 7.34 am August 6, following which she died. He had also called the victim August 5,” the SP said.
He said the investigators were now waiting for the post-mortem examination reports.
Meanwhile, the accused’s father threatened that he would also die by setting himself on fire outside the police station if his son was not released.
“I am a poor man because of which justice is denied to me. My son is innocent,” he claimed.
The accused’s mother and sister admitted that he had a relationship with the victim, but denied that he blackmailed her.
They alleged that the woman’s father had set his daughter on fire in a case of “honour killing”.
Based on the allegation, police have interrogated the victim’s father and brother, besides speaking to her mother.
PTI
