Mark Zuckerberg Being Stalked... by an Indian!

There is Facebook stalking, and then there is stalking the founder of Facebook. In February 2011, Mark Zuckerberg went to court over the second kind.

The subject of the restraining order was Pradeep Manukonda, 31, who had spent weeks trying to reach Zuckerberg through Facebook messages, through the mail, and in person. According to the court filing, Manukonda tried to "follow, surveil and contact" Zuckerberg using language threatening his personal safety -- and the safety of his girlfriend, Priscilla Chan, and his sister, Randi Zuckerberg.

The escalation was documented in detail. Manukonda showed up at several Facebook offices in Palo Alto asking for money for his financially struggling family. On January 24, Facebook security intercepted him at Zuckerberg's home just as he was walking up the front steps. Police gave him a verbal warning. Four days later, flowers arrived at the house with a handwritten letter. In one message, Manukonda wrote: "please help me, then I am ready to die for you... Please understand my pain."

A judge ordered Manukonda to stay at least 300 yards away from Zuckerberg, Chan, and Randi Zuckerberg pending a hearing later that month. Speaking afterward, Manukonda said he was no stalker: "I'm a peaceful guy... I'm sorry he thought I was trying to harm him." He said he had a personal problem he believed Zuckerberg could advise him on, and promised to respect his privacy.

The order was later made permanent -- a Santa Clara court barred Manukonda from any contact with Zuckerberg through February 2014.