Man gets numbers from office WhatsApp group, harasses ex-colleagues

Bengaluru: While many of us consider WhatsApp to be a treasure trove of possibilities, some have made use of this treasure in rather untoward ways. The latest in the trend of harassment via WhatsApp is a case involving an ex-employee of a company and his former colleagues. Arun was employed by a tour and travel agency back in April of this year on the recommendation of his friend. As is the custom in most of the smaller companies these days, he was added to the office WhatsApp group which had around 200 other members. After nearly a month, however, Arun quit the job. What the others in the company did not know was that Arun had managed to get the numbers of some of the female employees and soon after he quit, some of the female employees began receiving lewd messages from an unknown number. Arun had obtained two numbers and begun texting these women anonymously, asking them for sexual favours. According to one of the women, he would make video calls to her and expose himself, always making sure to cover his face while he did so. He would also insist upon a meeting with the women. Soon, the women figured out that there were others in the company who were receiving these lewd messages and also that they were coming from the same person. The women had even brought the incident to the notice of the management but Arun was not deterred. The women employees were soon able to figure out the identity of their tormentor and hatched a plan to confront him. On Saturday, June 30, one of Arun's targets asked him for a meeting to which he agreed. She, along with Arun's other targets and some male colleagues, went to meet the harasser. As one of the women was walking towards the bus stand, Arun waylaid her and began asking her to marry him, even threatening to abduct and marry her when she rejected him. Soon, her other colleagues surrounded the culprit and thrashed him. The police have booked a case against Arun. He has been remanded to judicial custody and sent to Parappana Agrahara central jail. Source: News Karnataka