Vasai man arrested for stalking woman online

The accused, Roger Dias. Pic/Hanif Patel

The Vasai police have arrested a 30-year-old man for allegedly stalking a woman online via Facebook and harassing her. The police, during the investigation, found that the man is a serial offender and four similar cases were registered against him in the past couple of years. He mostly targeted working women or those whose husbands worked abroad, said the police on Wednesday.

Roger Dias was arrested on Tuesday night after the 35-year-old woman filed a complaint on Monday. The woman, a housewife whose husband works abroad, alleged that Dias sent her a message on Facebook last year. "Hi, How are You, Looking Great," the message read, she said, adding that she did not reply.

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"A few days back, he again sent me the same message and began randomly sending texts to my friends. I had never seen or met him before. But I was able to recognise him from the news about him having committed a similar crime," she added. Both the 35-year-old victim and Dias live in the Vasai area.

The police sources said a 22-year-old woman had last year registered a similar complaint, alleging that the man stalked her online and demanded sexual favours. When she refused and told him that she will go to the police, Dias allegedly threatened to attack her with acid. He went into hiding after the case was filed last year.

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"Accused used to target women whose husbands work abroad or those who are working and lived in Vasai. He would stalk them to find out where they lived or what they did, or what kind of people they met. He had managed to befriend some of the women and after finding their weakness, he used to blackmail them and exploit them physically," said a police official.

Dias was arrested under Sections 354 (sexual harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. He was produced in a court which remanded him in police custody on Wednesday.

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