The police arrested the main accused in the case involving the alleged morphing and circulation of photographs of college students from across Malappuram district.
Subin Babu, 26, from Odankuzhi at Thirumala, Thiruvananthapuram, was arrested by a special police team led by the Malappuram District Police Chief.
The police said Babu admitted during an interrogation that he had collected photographs of female students from Instagram, morphed them, and circulated the altered images.
The accused, who was working as a mobile phone technician in Thiruvananthapuram, allegedly targeted Instagram accounts of college students in the Malabar region. The police suspect that the images were misused to make money.
During initial questioning, Babu denied morphing the photographs and claimed that another person had provided them to him to make money. He later admitted to the offence during further interrogation, the police said.
Students from around 12 colleges in Malappuram district had approached the police with complaints about the misuse of their photographs.
The police team travelled to Thiruvananthapuram and arrested the accused after intensifying the investigation following the complaints.
The police are examining digital evidence to determine whether others were involved in collecting, altering, and circulating the photographs.
Published – September 09, 2026 06:00 am IST
