CHENNAI: A 22-year-old man was arrested in Chennai for allegedly installing a child-monitoring application on a 40-year-old woman's mobile phone and using it to track her activities, the police said on Thursday.

The accused, Ganesh alias Prathamesh Medhkari, a native of Maharashtra, had been working at the woman's husband's jewellery shop in Perambur for around eight years. As he also helped the family with household errands, he was allowed to stay on the terrace of their house in Vyasarpadi.

According to the police complaint, on February 18, the woman handed over her mobile phone to Ganesh to fix a screen guard. He allegedly asked her for the phone's password and returned to the house after about two hours.

On November 9, the woman noticed that some applications on her phone were not functioning properly. When her daughter checked the device, they found an application meant to monitor children below 18 years of age. They suspected that Ganesh had installed it, as it his email address was registered on the app.

When confronted, Ganesh allegedly threatened to kill the woman and her family if she disclosed the matter to anyone.

Based on her complaint at the Sembium police station, a police team led by the station inspector conducted an investigation and confirmed the allegations, said officials, adding that the accused had been monitoring the woman's activities on his own device through the application on her phone.

A case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act (TNPHW Act), and the Information Technology Act.

The police arrested Ganesh on November 12, and seized three mobile phones allegedly used in the offence. He was produced before a court on the same day and remanded in judicial custody.