‘Don’t disrobe on social media, regardless of relationship’: SDIG Ajith Rohana
By Dinitha Rathnayake The Police urged the public to be vigilant and more responsible when using social media, after an incident reported of a woman being blackmailed for money with the threat of private pictures of herself being released on social media, which is referred to as “sextortion”.Police Media Spokesman Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) Ajith Rohana speaking to The Morning yesterday (28) said that it has been observed that the use of social media has been creating various problems recently.“I especially urge women to not disrobe on social media platforms, regardless of the nature of the relationship one is in, as they can be misused by the same party one is in the relationship with, or by a third party,“ he noted.A Sri Lankan man from Jaffna, who is currently residing in the UK, had demanded Rs. 1.7 million from a woman by threatening to release her photographs on social media. Two men have since been arrested in the Slave Island area in connection with the incident and produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate for attempting to extort money from the woman in question. SDIG Rohana said that the suspects were arrested by the Colombo Children and Women’s Bureau on 27 July. They were arrested on the charge of attempting to extort Rs. 700,000 from a 33-year-old woman residing in Wellawatte. The Police said that the woman had been in a relationship with a man living in England for almost two years now via WhatsApp. This man had subsequently demanded Rs. 1.7 million from the woman, SDIG Rohana noted.The man had threatened that various photos taken during the affair with the woman would be released on the Internet unless he was paid the money. The woman had agreed to pay Rs. 700,000 in cash, and the Police had arrested two Sri Lankans for facilitating the transfer of this money.Investigations have revealed that the main culprit hails from Jaffna, and has never met the victim in person.
