New Delhi, June 5 The Delhi Police have successfully dismantled a major sextortion syndicate operating out of the Mewat region in Haryana. According to a statement made on Thursday, the police have arrested three persons in connection with the racket.
The accused are alleged to have posed as officers from the Crime Branch and threatened victims with fabricated sexual harassment cases.
They would initiate contact via WhatsApp video calls, show the victims fake, explicit videos, and then record the victims in compromising positions. These videos were later used to blackmail the victims for money.
The police swung into action following a complaint from a man who had been defrauded of approximately Rs 14 lakh.
According to the complainant, he received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number, during which an explicit video played. The woman on the call manipulated the complainant into exposing himself, which was subsequently recorded.
The complainant later received three obscene videos of himself recorded by the fraudsters. Soon after, he received another WhatsApp call from someone identifying themselves as a Crime Branch officer. The caller threatened the complainant, demanding Rs 1.5 lakh to delete the videos.
The scam escalated further as the fraudster claimed the woman involved was a minor and that the complainant's phone was under surveillance. Additional demands were made -- Rs 2.5 lakh and then Rs 4 lakh.
The fraudsters then warned that the woman had allegedly committed suicide, and that the complainant would be arrested unless he paid Rs 6 lakh to “settle” the matter.
Fearing for his safety, the complainant complied with the demands. In total, he was duped of approximately Rs 14 lakh.
Based on the details provided in the complaint, the West District Police registered a case, initiating a thorough investigation. A special team was formed to probe the case.
According to police, the investigation traced the financial trail to the Mewat region and Sikri, District Deeg, Rajasthan. The suspects were identified as Javed and Vasim, both residents of Rajasthan.
A raid was conducted at Vasim’s residence in Mewat, where he attempted to flee but was apprehended. Another raid was carried out at Javed’s residence, where he too was arrested.
During questioning, the accused revealed that Khalid, a resident of Rajasthan, was responsible for recording the complainant’s video. A subsequent raid was carried out at Khalid’s residence, leading to his arrest.
Two mobile phones, which were used to commit the crime, were recovered from Khalid’s possession. All three accused have been sent to judicial custody.
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