Man from Tiruchi arrested for cyber harassment of woman from the U.S.

Chennai Police arrest man for stalking U.S. citizen on social media, highlighting the seriousness of cyberstalking and online harassment.

The Cyber Crime Wing of the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) has arrested a 37-year-old man for allegedly stalking and harassing a 40-year-old woman, a U.S. citizen, on social media for more than five years.

Based on a complaint from the U.S. Consulate General Chennai on the incident, a case was booked by the Cyber Crime Wing. The victim was also subjected to death threats and extortion demands and received obscene pictures through e-mail and on social media platforms, such as X (formerly Twitter), over the past few years, the police said.

After analysing call records and social media accounts, the police traced and arrested the suspect, who was identified as ‘Gift’ Jesubalan Selvanayagam, 37, of Kumaran Nagar in Tiruchi. The police said Jesubalan completed a BE in computer science in 2008 and had been unemployed since. He was a recluse and lived with his family. After his father’s death, he and his mother got by with the former’s pension.

Jesubalan had over 50 social media accounts under different names and followed the complainant’s social media account and posted irrelevant comments and pornographic content on her posts. He harassed and stalked her only for at least five years, the police said. Jesubalan was remanded in judicial custody after being produced at a court.

GCP Commissioner A. Arun said cyberstalking and online harassment were serious offences that attracted strict punishments and advised the victims to immediately report such crimes through www.cybercrime.gov.in or contact the nearest Cyber Crime Police Station for swift legal action.