WhatsApp has edged out Facebook as the new gadget jilted lovers used to settle scores with their ex-girlfriends or just harass them anyway.

Women's Helpline under the state social welfare department is flooded with distress calls from women who are receiving vulgar texts and pictures from strangers on their WhatsApp.

Pramila Kumari, project manager of the Women's Helpline, said the complaints have shot up in the past six months.

They now get 30-35 distress calls per day. She also said in most cases, the victims were wary of taking legal action. They just wanted some minor steps to ensure their ordeal comes to an end.

'Until five to six months back, women either complained about someone creating their fake profile on Facebook and posting explicit stuff or of a friend posting rude or vulgar comments and pictures on their genuine Facebook accounts.

But things have now changed. With cellphone chat applications like WhatsApp becoming popular harassment of girls has found a new platform. We receive 30-35 distress calls daily,' the official said.

The trend is changing, she said. 'Facebook, though easy to use, has its problems. Creating a fake profile takes time and effort. Also, earlier the victims would be bombarded with explicit pictures and messages after they added an unknown person to their friends' list. But in case of WhatsApp, the victims start receiving explicit messages from total strangers. They block the number but soon yet another unknown number pops up and starts sending them unsolicited messages. We still receive complaints about fake Facebook profiles but they have gone down and are negligible compared to the number of WhatsApp complaints we are getting,' Pramila said.

In many cases, women desist from taking legal action. 'They just request us to call up the number that is haunting them and tell them not to harass the girls. We are into counselling and can confront the accused. In most cases, when we call them up, they come to the office. It often turns out to be a case of unrequited love or of a former lover the girl wants to end her affair with. In case the boys do not turn up, we pass the number on to Patna police for surveillance.

The Women's Helpline can definitely lodge a suo motu FIR if we think the case is serious. But most victims don't want anything more than us calling up the number and dissuading them from harassing them. Legalities are a strict no-no,' Pramila Kumari said.

On Friday, Patna police had caught two men who were clicking pictures of three girls. When questioned, the men claimed they wanted to WhatsApp the pictures to the new traffic helpline number created for the purpose.

'Some women have lodged complaints alleging harassment by men. They are bent on lodging FIRs. The police help them by initiating action accordingly,' Patna superintendent of police (central) Shivdeep Lande said.