The Delhi Police has arrested a 17-year-old college student for allegedly stalking and harassing a minor girl on the social media platform, Instagram. The accused started to force the girl to share nude pictures of herself after befriending her, police said on Friday.

A graduation?student from the School of Open Learning in Delhi, the accused made friends with the 14-year-old girl and threatened her to share nude pictures, further asking for sexual favours, or else he would circulate her already available private pictures on social media platforms, the police reported.

The matter came to light when the victim's father approached the police and said that his daughter shared her private pictures and videos with someone through Instagram chats and was worried that the video might be circulated. However, the victim's father was reluctant to initiate any legal action.

After counseling, the victim narrated her ordeal and disclosed that she had shared her private pictures and video with a friend on Instagram after which he began to pressurize her to indulge further in inappropriate chats and coerced her to send more such pictures. Based on the statement of the minor girl, a case was registered, the police added.

During the investigation, the police got details of the alleged Instagram profile, including the IP address and mobile number used for registering the profile. The details of the IP address were further obtained from concerned mobile operators and the identity of the alleged person was ascertained, said Sagar Singh Kalsi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North).

Upon reaching the address, it was discovered that the SIM card was registered under the name of the boy's father, Kalsi said. As the boy was not found at home, his father was directed to produce him before the police.

"During the enquiry, the accused claimed that he came in possession of some private pictures of the girl and started following her on Instagram. He kept her private pictures saved on his mobile phone and used to stalk her online. After befriending her, he started asking for her nude photos, but when the girl did not agree to his demands, he told her that he has her private pictures already," the DCP said.

Further investigations into his phone, it was revealed that the boy was also harassing other young girls through the same modus operandi, the police said.

(With PTI inputs)