The Kerala Police on Wednesday arrested a man accused of morphing women’s photographs at a studio in Kozhikode district’s Vadakara town and using them for pornography, PTI reported.
The police have booked Babeesh under Sections 66D (punishment for cheating by impersonation by using computer resources) and 67 (punishment for publishing and transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The police had on Monday arrested the studio owners, Satheesh and Dinesh, who are co-accused in the case. They confessed to the crime.
“As per their statements, prime accused Babeesh was the mastermind of the operation and the studio owners were not involved directly in the morphing activity,” Deputy Superintendent of Police TP Premraj told The New Indian Express. He added that the two of them however completely supported Babeesh.
The incident came to light last week after a woman filed a complaint against the studio, Sadayam Shoot and Edit, after she saw a morphed image of her on social media. Following this, many other women in the region also reportedly filed complaints against the studio employees.
The police searched the studio and found more than 40,000 photos of women taken at weddings stored in hard disks. The police have sealed the studio and seized several documents.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!