The owner of a house in Raghunathpur, on the fringes of Rajarhat, was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly sending a woman lewd comments and pornographic content through WhatsApp and social media messaging platforms.
Police said Apratim Basu, the accused, had got the contact details of the woman while she was looking for a rented accommodation through various websites.
Basu, who had posted advertisements on various property websites for renting out his house, was picked up from his home based on a complaint lodged by the woman with the cybercrime police station in Salt Lake on May 1, an officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said.
The officer said the woman had been on a house hunt for several months and had got in touch with Basu after coming across advertisements posted by him.
“The woman had gone to take a look at the house but did not like it. She informed Basu about this. Basu kept calling the woman from multiple numbers. Once she stopped taking his calls, he sent her several objectionable photographs and lewd messages through WhatsApp and social media messaging apps,” the officer said.
Basu has been charged under various sections of the IPC, including 500 (defamation), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and under the IT act.