Guwahati, Aug. 18: A 24-year-old youth was arrested by the CID for allegedly creating a fake profile of Assam public works department minister Ajanta Neog on Facebook, a popular social networking site.
A team from the cyber cell of the CID apprehended Nekibur Rahman from the Merapani area in Golaghat district today.
The accused, a small-time businessman, is a resident of Okhagaranga village in Ghiladhari police station area of Golaghat district.
A police source said the matter came to light last month when the minister herself filed a complaint with the special task force of Assam for investigating the matter. Accordingly, a case (number 7/11) was registered by the task force under Section 66 (C) of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000.
Subsequently, the investigation was handed over to the CID from the task force on August 13.
According to the source, the CID collected the login details, including the Internet protocol (IP) address, of the fake profile from the headoffice of Facebook in Palo Alto, California.
“From the Internet service provider (ISP) we ascertained that this IP address was issued to Nekibur Rahman,” the source said.
The accused had accessed Internet from his mobile phone to create the fake Facebook profile of the PWD minister some months ago and subsequently uploaded her photograph and other personal details.
“During preliminary questioning by the CID, the accused confessed that he did it for fun,” the source said.
The CID has seized his mobile handset and laptop which will be sent for forensic test. The accused, who was brought to the city from Merapani this evening for further interrogation, is likely to be produced in court tomorrow.
“If the accused is convicted by the court under Section 66 (C) of the IT Act, he could be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and may also be liable to a fine which may extend to Rs 1 lakh,” the source said.
According to him, the problem of fake profiles on social networking sites has taken a dangerous proportion and such profiles could ruin social and professional connections besides damaging the reputation of the victims.
