Purulia, Jan. 16: A 19-year-old who had recorded intimate scenes with his 14-year-old “girlfriend” on his mobile, clips of which spread from one friend to another, has been arrested in Purulia.

Kuldeep Adhikary’s act was prompted by a challenge involving stake money, if a friend is to be believed.

Police are not so sure. An officer of the Sadar police station said: “What we do know is that his friends made copies of the clip on December 28 when he had left the phone with them during a cricket match. Then it spread through MMS from one friend to another.”

The friend said Kuldeep had been challenged by his mates to record his sexual encounters and promised a few thousand rupees if he was successful. But they allegedly refused to pay him when he showed them the clip and threatened to circulate it if he did not drop the demand.

The clip soon started spreading. On January 4, the girl found “30-40 boys” waiting to see her in person when she went to attend a tutorial class.

The boy is said to have known the Class VIII student for almost a year. A Class IX dropout, he was picked up on Wednesday from his home in Purulia town, 320km from Calcutta.

After the scandal broke, the girl’s father, a law officer who works for the police, went to the boy’s father, a postal department driver, with a marriage proposal. It was turned down.

“We held Kuldeep on charges of dealing with pornography and indecent representation of women. He has been sent to 14 days’ jail custody,” said officer-in-charge S. Banerjee.