A 36-year-old man was arrested by the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) for allegedly running an disturbing online harassment racket in which he preyed on women and minor girls by stealing their Instagram photographs, morphing them into obscene images, and threatening to circulate them on social media unless they submitted to his sexual demands.The accused allegedly created a fake Instagram account to identify potential victims and downloaded publicly accessible photographs. Investigators said he used mobile applications and artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools to convert the images into sexually explicit content, using which he blackmailed the victims to engage in sexually explicit conversations.Following complaints from the victims, the Cyber Crime Police of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Information Technology Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The police refused to disclose the number of victims affected.A senior police officer said, “He targeted women and minor girls who posted their photographs openly on Instagram. He copied those photographs and videos, and morphed them using a mobile application and AI tools. And he would send them to those targets after befriending them through chats, and start harassing them. In most cases, he would compel victims to engage in sexually explicit online conversations.”A police team led by Inspector Sujatha tracked down the accused, K. Padmanaban, 36, from Tiruchirappalli. He is a school drop-out and separated from his wife. He was arrested and produced before the Special POCSO Court, which remanded him in judicial custody.The police have seized electronic devices used in the offences and are examining the accused’s social media accounts to identify additional victims and establish the full extent of the cybercrimes. He is also accused of driving a woman in Thoothukudi to death through continuous harassment. Earlier, he had been lodged in prison for eight months. But, he continued the offence after release, the police said.The GCP said downloading photographs of women without their consent, morphing them into obscene images, and sharing such content were serious offences punishable under law.The police also advised the public not to share personal information, photographs or other sensitive details with strangers and to ensure that privacy settings on social media accounts were configured securely. People have been urged to immediately report suspicious social media accounts, online threats or similar cyber offences to the police. Published - July 31, 2026 12:31 am IST