Mumbai – What began as a misguided attempt at humor has spiraled into a criminal investigation, leaving a Mumbai family grappling with the betrayal of a trusted schoolmate.
In July, a 10th-grade girl found her phone buzzing with a barrage of inappropriate and distressing messages from an unidentified number. Initially dismissing them as random annoyances, she soon hit the block button when the harassment persisted. But the ordeal didn’t end there: the sender shifted tactics, targeting the victim’s mother with similar unwelcome texts.
The family wasted no time reporting the incident to authorities. On July 10, Mumbai police filed a First Information Report (FIR) against an unknown perpetrator, invoking sections 78 and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). These provisions address stalking and acts intended to outrage a woman’s modesty, reflecting the gravity of the digital intrusion.
As detectives delved deeper, a shocking revelation emerged. The phone number traced back to a fellow student at the same school – not just any peer, but the girl’s benchmate, someone she saw daily and shared notes with. Far from a faceless troll, the accused was a classmate whose proximity made the violation all the more jarring.
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Interrogation uncovered the chilling motive: the sender claimed it was all “just for fun,” a so-called prank gone awry. Yet police classified it as far from playful, seizing the accused’s mobile device and scrutinizing the incriminating chat logs. After issuing a formal notice, officers released the minor, but the legal machinery churned on.
Now, the accused student’s father has turned to the Bombay High Court, filing a petition to quash the FIR and halt the proceedings. The case underscores the blurred lines between youthful mischief and outright harassment in an era of instant connectivity, where a single tap can cross into criminal territory.
For the victim’s family, the emotional toll lingers, a stark reminder that threats can lurk even among friends. As the court weighs the plea, Mumbai police continue to probe, emphasizing that no jest justifies jeopardizing someone’s sense of safety.
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