Shocking - OML founder Vijay Nair uncovers his Cyber stalker and what he found will freak you out

Vijay Nair is the founder of OML (Only Much Louder) and a well known enterpreneur. If you don't already know, his company is in based in Mumbai and is known for its popular NH7 Weekender concerts, comedy collectives (East India Comedy etc.) and the hit All India Bakchod. Success however, comes with a price tag. 

It all started back in 2015, when to Nair's utter dismay, an anonymous Twitter handle tweeted to him saying, "Yew Vijay Nair biggest sex maniac." As any one would be, Nair too, was startled by this and wondered who it was. No suspect came to mind and little did he know that this was only the beginning of a agressive, vicious series of 'stalking' events. 

Over the next couple of months, the nerve-wracking tale only developed, ultimately leaving Nair distressed and anxious. The events proved how life could be so easy for a cyberstalker and how difficult it could be for someone on the receiving end. There were no legal solutions or facilities to help Nair figure out the person and motive behind the unending Tweets and messages, but Nair was determind. 

According to a popular news and entertainment website, here are the events described, based on the extensive review of documents and interviews. 

Who is Ketaki?

Nair was able to recognise a pattern that day. An anonymous handle would interfere between his chats with other people and respond to his conversations, especially with women. "Put news ticker that Vijay Nair f***s every girl through events," responded an anonymous handle when he was talking to a journalist on Twitter. "vijay nair resume only have flirt wid gals sex with gals," said another one, while Nair attempted to answer a student's query.

The messages were misleading, showing Nair to be a sexual predator of some sort. Many of them accused him of serious sexual harassment, leaving Nair concerned and troubled. 

Each time the enterpreneur reported an anonymous account for abuse, Twitter would suspend it. Within just a few minutes, a new anonymous handle would replace it. They were all variations of the word - Ketaki. Sometimes, 'Ketaki'  also targeted women who were having public conversations with Nair on Twitter.

When a student asked Nair about failure at work, 'Ketaki' replied, "work hard in bed d*** up."

To a journalist tweeting about breaking news, the handle asked, "is Vijay Nair small d*** real 2."

The vey next day, Nair received an email from "Ketaki Ketaki",  apologising for the harassment on social media. The sender's email address was mrskamaalrkhan@india.com. Apart from Nair, it was also marked to three of his women friends who had been targeted on Twitter. The email read:

Dear Vijay Nair

Sorry 4 wat I have done on twitter in last few days with yew and all known people of yew.my hubby has got to know about it.I have to say sorry now and it will not be repeat again.

Forgive me.Yewr lover forever

Involving Geeta

Several emails followed where people who appeared to be chatting with Nair on Twitter would be marked. Some were journalists, whose  ids could easily be found on the internet. Over a period of time, more than 50 - 60 people who knew Nair were marked in such emails, typically with crass, abusive language and threats. In some emails to him, the stalker would threaten to harm his family members, describing their individual locations accurately.

Back then, things were just starting to escalate. On 30 November 2015, the same email ID sent another email to Nair and a group of friends, including one we shall call Geeta, to protect her identity. The email read:

Hello Vijay, 

I am mail yew again as I did not get response from yew.I whatsap yew also whatsap yewr girlfriend geeta [name changed].yew did not reply geeta did not reply.

I loved yew very very much but now I am sorry for tweet to all yewr friends.my sorry apology

One week later, on 7 December 2015, "Ketaki Ketaki" sent another email to the same group:

Hello Vijay, Yew don't respond.so do this

Girls geeta charge money to sex vijay nair.vijay nair pay geeta 2000 night from two years. Vijay use girl dump them.yew vijay is most selfish man.never think beyond yewrself.yew deserve prostitute like Geeta.

Rightfully so, Geeta, woman in her mid 30's, (who worked for an entertainment company) was fuming. Her job demanded networking with known names from arts and culture.

Coming from Bihar, she had worked with top companies in Delhi and Mumbai and liked mingling with the movers and shakers of the Mumbai entertainment industry. Since some of the women marked by "Ketaki" were journalists, and this could seriously harm Geeta's reputation in an industry where rumours can easily be believed and rule to roost. 

Geeta barely knew Nair, and had only met him socially a few months ago, followed by accompnaying each other to a film's premier show together - but that was it. 

So the question here arises is that- why was Vijay Nair's anonymous online stalker targeting Geeta along with him?

The Married Couple

Using WhatsApp, Geeta asked Nair to explain what was going on. An embarrassed Nair was quick to apologise. He was felt terrible that a cyber stalker was harassing her only because she knew him.

But who was this mysterious stalker? Nair had a suspect in mind. A few years ago, a married couple from Delhi would stalk him during events and had stopped doing so after Nair sent them a legal notice. 

But suddenly, Nair seemed to think that they were back in action, in an online avatar, hiding behind the anonymity that the internet allows. Geeta offered to come forward and help Nair by reaching out to her contacts within the  Mumbai police.

"She told me her cousin brother was this well-known super cop Himanshu Roy, and she'll check with him," said Nair. "I was like, great, I'll take any help I can get at this point in time." Obviously. 

Using Whatsapp, Geeta sent Nair screenshots of her conversations with Roy. Roy had confirmed that it was the same Delhi-based couple who was behind the 'Ketaki' emails and added that they had used a proxy email server in Canada to hide their tracks. 

The Mumbai police had warned them on phone and in person, the officer told Geeta. It wouldn't happen again. Things seemed to have fallen in place and Nair thought it was all figured out. 

"Ketaki Ketaki" confirmed it was indeed the Delhi couple behind it all. An email on 10 December 2015 said the police had visited the couple. The email read:

Geeta,

Yew complain to police.my hubby me get call from police station.I am sorry to yew and vijay. Can't able to whatsapp yew vijay as I am block. This wil never be repeat again ever.sorry for harass and bad word

This was the conformation Nair was waiting for. He was relieved. Sadly, that was not the end. The messages did not stop and the anonymous cyber stalker kept demanding that Nair be returned to Geeta. A rather strange demand as there was nothing ever cooking between the two.

'Ketaki' asked Geeta to withdraw her police complaint against her and her husband. In truth, Geeta had never filed a formal complaint, but had been informally using Roy's help, she'd told Nair. Since the police had visited the couple, 'Ketaki' seemed to think a formal complaint had been filed. All that Nair and Geeta wanted, was to put an end to the disturbing emails.

The Threatening Messages

As time went by, the messages became more and more threatening. "I started getting messages like... 'I will kill myself with poison, I will tell the cops that you've tried to rape me'. That's when I started taking things more seriously," said Nair.

Soon, Nair began to get messages on Whatsapp as well. All from American phone numbers. As soon as he would block one number, he would start getting them from another, in a matter of minutes.

"I'm talking about 300-400 messages a day," Nair said. "I would take out my phone to open Whatsapp, and there would be hundreds of messages from these random American numbers." Some messages just had his name typed out dozens of times, others simply said Hi.

Geeta would get similar Whatsapp messages, screenshots of which she would share with Nair. Usually, neither of them would reply. One night, an exasperated Geeta begged the anonymous sender, "Please stop texting me." In response, she received a barrage of texts warning her to stay away from Nair, or there would be "consequences," including rape.

During the second week of December, things began escalating even further. At 6:06 pm on Sunday, 13 December, Nair and Geeta panicked as the stalker threatened to visit Geeta. The email read:

I am at mumbai. I will see yew in sometime geeta (name changed).yew cant take my vijay away from me.yew will face for this price.yew are pregnant with vijay baby.I will kill yew and yewr baby.vijay is mine.I will also tell everone on twitter that yew are pregnant.

A concerned Nair immediently asked OML's security personnel to reach Geeta's house in Malad. Geeta, who claimed she knew Salman Khan, had reached out to him. The Bollywood superstar was sending his bodyguard Shera too, she told Nair.

Twenty-five minutes after the first email, exactly at 6:30 pm, Nair and Geeta received another email:

Geeta I am down stair.come down.pink top jeans black jacket.

Over the next hour, the person kept sending emails to both Geeta and Nair, claiming to be standing downstairs of Geeta's apartment. The person claimed to be carrying a gun and poison, and warned them against calling the police. 

The emails read: 

"I am in mumbai.I will see yew in some time.will not let yew take away vijay from me"

"Geeta I waiting downstairs"

"Plz give back my vijay to me"

"Geeta if yew want yew call vijay also to yew home.don't even try call police.I am carry gun with me.I will kill yew first then kill myself.give vijay to me all this will not happen.I also carry poison with me"

"I know yew touch with vijay.tell vijay to come meet me"

"Meet me vijay.I promise yew I wont tweet wont mail yewr frn wont whatsap yew.yew meet me in puna so nicely.now why do this"

"Yew write song for me twitter.why now ignore.plz meet me.I am wait outside geeta (name changed) house."

"Geeta I am outside yew house door ringing bell knocing door.why yew not opening door.scared? I will not let yew keep vijay"

The Strange Note

Four men from OML's security team, along with a senior executive, reached Geeta's house while the emails kept coming. 

Nair's security colleagues started looking for a woman, wearing black and pink, around the area. Geeta's apartment was located on the 8th floor. The men spread out, keeping an eye on all entry and exit points of the building. 

Finally the emails stopped. Around 2 am the senior executive called Nair and said it was safe for them to leave. They all  agreed that the person was probably not around the apartment and must have left even if she was there. 

Just around that time, Nair and Geeta got another email:

"I wil keep come to yewr house every day night til yew meet me. I leave slip for yew. vijay is mine. give him back to me. I am not leave mumbai til I meet yew". Right after Nair saw the email, he got a call from Geeta, confirming that a note had indeed been slipped through the front door. "MEET ME," it said on a piece of paper. 

Speaking to a daily, the senior executive said, "We hadn't gone far, so we all ran back to her house." Two men guarded the entrance of the building, two others climbed the stairs to the eighth floor, while the executive took the elevator to Geeta's house. None of them found anyone suspicious. At Geeta's house, the executive found her shivering in fear. She told him she was making tea when she saw the note lying at the front door.

The Realisation

Anxious as ever, Nair had not slept all night, nervously expecting yet another Whatsapp message or email. His bodyguard at home couln't comfort him enough. What if the stalker tried to harm his family? They didn't even know about any of this. 

He hoped the executive and his team were able to find the stalker at the earliest. 

Just then his phone rang. It was the senior executive. "Vijay," he said, "you realise this woman is doing everything right?"

"What do you mean?!" asked Nair.

The executive explained how he had tried to slip the note through the same door himself, but the gap wasn't wide enough for it, Vijay," he said, "you realise this woman is doing everything right?"

The executive had stood outside Geeta's door and tried to insert the same note through every crack of the door, but it just wouldn't go through. He tried every possible way to make the note slip through. He tried inserting it with a half-fold, the way Geeta gave it to him. He tried inserting it without a fold. He made a video showing this. He also noticed the note looked like it had just been written. The ink was fresh.

He immediately sent the video to Nair to prove the same. As soon as he pressed 'Send', he recalled, Geeta yanked open the door. "Nahin jaa rahaa na? (It's not going through, right?)" she asked, as she stared right at him. 

For hours, he stayed there with his men, chatting away with her and sipping on some tea. Having just realised what the truth might be, the senior executive said he was too scared to confront her right away. Around 8 in the morning, she told them that she had to leave for work. She had a big shoot that evening with a big B-Town star. 

The Trap

Since new doubts began to cloud Nair's head, he started recalling the chain of events of the past few weeks, especially all his conversations with Geeta. 

Was it just the note or had she lied about everything?

First, he got in touch with Himanshu Roy, the senior police officer who she had said was her cousin. When he managed to get an appointment with Roy, and narrated the entire story, the cop was disturbed. He had no such cousin sister, he told Nair, and he had never sent any messages or used his contacts to trace the couple in Delhi.

What especially troubled Roy was the reference to his wife in the messages Geeta claimed to have received from him.

While Roy was not available for a comment, a well known daily confirmed this information from Mumbai police officials who were in the loop. Other things Geeta had told Nair--like Salman Khan offering her his security--also turned out to be false. (Khan's security chief Shera confirmed this to the daily. "I don't know this person and neither does Salman," he said.)

Nair started to wonder if Geeta was the one behind this whole thing and so, he decided to lay a trap. He told Geeta the made up story that his erstwhile Delhi stalker believed that one Raghu Dixit song was written about her. Soon, the stalker on email referred to the song.

Similarly, Nair cooked up other stories about himself, shared them with Geeta, and found them making their way to the stalker emails. It was now clear to him that Geeta was indeed the stalker. But he chose not to react just as yet. 

The Uncovering

Nair soon told Geeta that he wanted to file a police complaint against the anonymous stalker and wanted her to give a witness statement to accompany his FIR at the police station.

On the morning of 18 December 2015, Nair met Geeta at the NM Joshi police station. Until this point, he was still pretending he thought the stalker was the woman from Delhi.

At the police station, as Nair narrated the story, he also told the cops that Geeta had informally complained to her cousin, the police officer Himanshu Roy, who had had the stalker in Delhi warned. The police officer at the NM Joshi police station said he knew Himanshu Roy very well and proceeded to call Roy, who denied knowing Geeta.

This is when Geeta's make-believe world began to crumble. Busted, she gave in and verbally admitted that she was the one behind the everything. 

"Earlier she was playing the victim and then it became clear that she's behind it," a senior police officer present at the time of her questioning told the leading daily. 

Business Rivals

The Mumbai Police wondered what the motive was and if there was another person aiding and abetting with her. Surely, she couldn't have pulled off a big identity scam herself...

All the emails and messages to Nair and his female colleagues were sent through a virtual private network, or VPN, which conceals its user's real digital address. The sender used fake American mobile numbers and VPNs, that can easily be purchased online, to send obscene emails and messages.

Geeta's personality didn't match up to the tech savi-ness displayed in the events. So was there an accomplice who was behind all the technology? Everyone wondered. Geeta worked at a company that was OML's rival, called The Viral Fever, which, like OML, had interests in both comedy and digital content.

Did by any chance her company bosses make her do it? Yes, indeed. It was indeed her boss, TVF founder Arunabh Kumar, who had made her do all of this, she admitted to the police.

Arunabh Kumar had both the technical background and potential motive - he was a BTech graduate from IIT Kharagpur and Nair's biggest business rival. This theory could fit in with the investigation and it all made perfect sense. The police immediately called Kumar to the police station for questioning.

They questioned Kumar and Geeta separately, and then together. They became convinced that Kumar had no idea of any of this. She told the cops then that he had blackmailed her into doing what she did. But she failed to explain how. 

After the interrogation, Kumar went up to Nair and assured him he had nothing to do with any of this. The next day he called up Nair and assured him one more time.

"It's not my job to believe or disbelieve him," Nair told a daily. "But there was no evidence to point towards his involvement."

The daily spoke to the Mumbai police about the investigation. They confirmed that they did not believe Kumar had any relation to the case. "It's not rocket science to use VPNs (virtual private networks, which help mask a computer's unique IP address)," a senior police officer said. "You can just Google it."

Geeta's Defence

After the whole escapade at the police station, Nair cut off his ties with Geeta and completely stopped responding to her messages. As the word spread, many friends and acquaintances in Mumbai also broke off all ties with her. 

She repeatedly tried to reach out to Nair, begging him to give her a chance to explain herself. In one of the emails, she event hinted she was contemplating commit suicide. "Wish you would have understood that it is not my fault but you have made up your mind against me and the thought of it is killing me," she wrote. "i hope you will realize some day that I was most honest till the end. I give up on life as I can't take this pressure anymore."

Nair was quick to alert the police and requested her acquaintances rush to her apartment. She was alright. 

After an FIR was lodged in the matter, Geeta complained to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) saying she had been beaten up by one of the senior police officers investigating the case. Mumbai police filed a reply to her accusations, and the NHRC investigated and found no merit in the allegations made by Geeta. Finding "no further intervention required", the commission closed the enquiry in November 2016.

Geeta's personal laptop and two mobile phones were confiscated for forensic examination. Crucial evidence from these devices could help determine the fate of the investigation. Police officers say the forensic examination could take years because India's forensic laboratories are understaffed and overburdened with cases.

Even post a forensic examination, the police may not be able to charge Geeta with much, except obscenity laws. The Indian Information Technology (IT) Act does not have adequate remedies for victims in such cases. "Cyberstalking is not an offence under the IT Act," cyber crime expert and lawyer Pavan Duggal said to a leading daily. Section 67 of the IT Act says a person sending obscene messages electronically could get at most three years in jail and may have to cough up a fine of at most ₹5 lakhs.

Men who stalk women in person or on the internet can be charged under section 354D of the IPC, but the same law does not apply if the victim is a man.

As of now, no one has been arrested or charged. Geeta continues to work at a media company in Mumbai.