This Chennai boy used to make friends on facebook, develop relations, take pictures and later blackmail the girls

Chennai: Young girls, or for that matter women, beware of the facebook and friendship seeking requests from unknown persons.

Chennai police on Tuesday took a young man, Samuvelu, 22 years old, from Mylapore in custody for allegedly blackmailing girls after spending some intimate moments with them and making picture and videos of the asociations.

He allegedly sent requests on facebook, made friends with girls and developed intimate relations with them. He used to record their intimate moments on video camera and the blackmailed them to extort money.

His extortion racket ran smoothly and he is believed to have two more accomplices, who are at present on the run.

A young girl, one of the victims of the charms of Samuvelu, lodged a complaint with the Chintradipet police, which passed it on to the cybercrime cell. Upon tracking the facebook account and browsing habits, the police took him in custody and interrogating him. The young man, used to post his stylish pictures on the facebook and had many friends who were girls whom he contacted through the facebook.

It is believed that Samuvelu had enjoyed intimate relations with few girls.

A senior retired police official said that it was upto parents and schools to educate girls about the perils of getting into contact with unknown persons through the net, which could prove dangerous. It is upto the girls themselves to protect themselves by restraining themselves rather than somebody forcing them to avoid such activities.

The danger that they could be in should be told to them at a young age and they should be educated about the possibilities that exist in the outside world, said a social activist, who said there could be many more Samuvelus lurking around and not getting caught as the girls may not have had the courage to complain.