Bhubaneswar, July 23: Intimate videos of couples posted on social media have become all too frequent in recent days.

So far this month, three such cases have come to the fore. Three persons, including a woman, have been arrested.

On July 2, an engineering student was arrested for allegedly making a sex video featuring him and his girlfriend, which became viral on social media. On Saturday, Kharavela Nagar police arrested a married man and a woman for filming themselves having sex, the clip of which appeared online. The cops are yet to take action in a similar case featuring a couple, who are students at a private engineering college in the city.

The police said in most cases, the victims do not lodge formal complaints fearing embarrassment.

"Despite unwillingness of the victims, we have been taking suo motu cognisance and registering cases on our own. However, the police can only initiate action if we come to know of the incident," said a senior cop.

According to the police, in most such cases, the male partners make the film with the intention of blackmailing the woman. "The accused film the incident and later use it as a tool to blackmail the woman once they break up. There are also instances in which the accused have shared the clip with their friends that ultimately led to it landing on social media," said a police officer.

"People should not capture or record intimate scenes with their partners because in the age of social media, no own knows where such videos will land up," deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said.

"We have been closely monitoring such incidents and stringent action will be taken against the guilty."

Bhoi said the accused in such cases could be booked under various sections of Indian Penal Code and IT act.

Sociologist Jyoti Bothra said: "Such clips are bound to spread quickly because many, by nature, like to watch pornographic videos. Such videos going viral can destroy the social prestige of not only the victim, but also her family members. There are several instances in which the woman involved has committed suicide."