Man Arrested for Posting Private Photos of Malayalam Actor

The photos, leaked a few days ago, were used by him to blackmail the actor and he had sought Rs 75 lakh from her.

The man arrested for blackmailing the Malayalam actor. (Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

A man was arrested for posting private photographs of a Malayalam woman actor on social media in order to extort money from her.

The 38-year-old accused, Kiran Kumar of Ottappalam, was arrested by Ernakulam central police based on the complaint filed by the actor.

The photos, leaked a few days ago, were used by Kiran to blackmail the actor and he had sought Rs 75 lakh from her.

He had threatened to release the photos if she did not pay him.

Police said that he posted a few photos on social media as the actor ignored and complained about his act and he might have expected her to pay the money to prevent him from releasing more.

The photographs have since gone viral on Facebook and WhatsApp.

An officer from central police told The Times of India, “Kiran was a production associate in 2008. The two were in an affair and the accused had promised to marry the actor. However, he had hidden from the girl the fact that he was married. The pictures were clicked during this affair. The actor later broke up with the accused after coming to know that he was married.”

Police said that Kiran used to visit the locations of the actor and had threatened her before she filed a police complaint.

Ernakulam Assistant Commissioner K Laljy said that Section 354 IPC for assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, 354C for disseminating private images and Section 67(A) of IT Act for publishing and transmitting sexually explicit images have been charged against him.

“We are also getting other details on whether anyone else was involved in the crime. We have found that a few are involved in spreading the photographs through social media. They will also be arrested soon,” the officer said.

(This story was first published from The News Minute.)