The police statement said Akash Choudhary was arrested under nine violations of the penal code
A friend request to strangers on Facebook, or a follow on Instagram, was usually the first step. This gave Akash Choudhary access to loads of pictures of young women which he would download to create their fake profiles. Then, according to a Delhi Police statement, he would reach out to the men, send them messages to lure them into paying money into his mobile e-wallet for an interesting chat, or more. From one businessman in Mumbai, he is alleged to have taken Rs 70,000.
The 34-year-old commerce graduate also leveraged the considerable following of these fake profiles on social media to promote various products: shoes, watches, sunglasses, clothes and even a cab service. "He was in contact with 5-7 companies for promotion of their products", said Chinmoy Bizwal,
a senior Delhi Police officer in a statement.He was doing well for himself, far better than the call centre job that he got himself when his family first shifted to Gurgaon from Bihar more than a decade earlier. One of his fake profile even has 1 million followers.
His success, however, may have proven to be his undoing.
A woman from south Delhi's Lajpat Nagar area came across her pictures on Instagram and figured someone had created her fake profiles and was promoting some brands.
According to her complaint to the Lajpat Nagar police in January this year, someone also sent her on her Facebook, claiming that he had been duped by one of these fake profiles.
The woman said she had learnt about the fake profiles in 2017 and when she demanded that her pictures be removed, she was told to give more pictures else he would post her picture on websites advertising escort services.
She gave in then, but later filed the police complaint.
The police were able to trace him down to Gurgaon where he and his father had also started a shop selling meat products. He initially denied involvement but, according to the police statement, came around after the investigators checked out his mobile phones, laptop and bank accounts.
He clearly knew how to make money from online advertising on social networking sites.
"In 2016, in order to earn extra and quick money he planned to create fake profiles... and increased its followers by sending and accepting friend request," Mr Biswal said in the statement after arresting Akash Choudhary on Thursday.
The police statement said Akash Choudhary was arrested under nine violations of the penal code and the information technology law including threatening women online to defame them, impersonation, extortion and using vulgar language.
Ms Biswal said the suspect appeared to have duped about 10-20 men "on the pretext of chatting and friendship" but the cyber cell team was still investigating complaints that he may have uploaded some pictures on websites linked to prostitution.