BENGALURU: A woman has approached police alleging that her 23-year-old daughter secretly shared private photographs of her and nude images of her sister with a man, identified as Varun alias Giridhar, triggering fears of online exploitation and misuse of personal data.The 49-year-old woman filed the complaint after she discovered what she described as disturbing material on her daughter’s mobile phone. The family told investigators that the matter came to light about a month ago when the mother noticed her daughter speaking to an unknown man on a video call.
The family, residents of Bengaluru for 25 years, includes the parents and two daughters. The elder daughter is an unemployed BBA graduate while the younger daughter is pursuing her studies. The father works as a cook and the mother is a homemaker. They live in a neighbourhood off Mysuru Road.According to the complaint, a year ago, the elder daughter asked her father to buy her a smartphone as she needed it for academic and career purposes. The parents purchased the device. Trouble began when the mother, while doing household work, entered her daughter’s room and saw her on a video call. The daughter disconnected the call at once, which raised suspicion.When questioned about the man, the daughter allegedly avoided giving clear answers. The parents informed other relatives and tried to counsel her, but she refused to share details or reveal the password to her phone. After several hours of persuasion, the family managed to access the device.The mother alleged that they found photographs of her private parts, taken while she was asleep and shared on WhatsApp with Varun. She also claimed that the daughter had taken nude photos and videos of her aunt — the mother’s elder sister — while the latter was bathing at her house, and forwarded them to the same man.Messages recovered from the phone suggest that Varun had asked the young woman to send such images, the complaint stated. The discovery left the family frightened about the possibility that the material might have been circulated further. Relatives advised the woman to stop contacting Varun and ensured that the images were deleted from the device.Despite this, the daughter continued to argue with her parents. A week ago, she allegedly left home, telling the family that she intended to marry Varun. Uncertain about the man’s background and worried about the safety of the women in the family, the parents approached the cops on Feb 5.A senior police officer said the allegations are being verified and efforts are on to trace Varun. A case has been registered under provisions of the Information Technology Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
