Pune: Three Minor Boys Detained For Morphing Photos Of Schoolgirls And Uploading On Social Media
Pune, 17th August 2024: The Hadapsar police have detained three minors, aged 15 to 16, for allegedly outraging the modesty of four schoolgirls and stalking them by morphing their photos and posting them on social media between June 16 and 30. The detained boys are classmates of the victims, with one being a school dropout and the other two currently studying in Std X.
According to the police, the three boys were taken into custody and sent to an observation home on Thursday night. The following day, they were presented before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB). The board ordered the release of one of the boys on bail, placing him under the custody of his parents, while the other two were ordered to remain in the observation home.
Inspector Nilesh Jagdale of the Hadapsar police station shared details of the case, stating, “The issue came to our attention when one of the girls discovered that her morphed photos had been circulated on social media. She immediately informed the school headmistress, who then contacted the girl’s parents. A formal complaint was subsequently filed with the police.”
Jagdale provided further information about the boys involved. “One of the minors, who had dropped out of school, is from an auto rickshaw driver’s family. Another boy is raised by a single parent, while the third is the son of a state reserve police force (SRPF) employee,” he said.
The investigation revealed that the school dropout had taken photos of the four girls and used a photo-editing application to morph them. He then shared the altered images with his two friends, one of whom made them viral on social media.
Initially, the mother of one of the girls was hesitant to file a complaint due to concerns about social stigma. However, the police were able to convince her to lodge a First Information Report (FIR).
Inspector Jagdale also mentioned that the girls and their parents would be provided with counseling sessions to help them cope with the incident.
