Man duped of Rs 71k in sextortion racket, 1 held

MUMBAI: A 23-year-old student from Rajasthan who is part of a sextortion racket was arrested by the Mumbai police for allegedly threatening to send obscene videos of a 57-year-old man to his contacts. The accused extorted Rs 71,000 from him.

The police, on Saturday, arrested Ansar Khan and are looking for his accomplices. On June 9, the complainant who works with the Mumbai Port Trust received a call from a woman on his WhatsApp. She asked him how she was looking and tried to be friendly and soon asked him to show strip. The complainant followed her instructions and the phone disconnected.

Within fifteen minutes he received a message from the woman stating that his nude video was with her and she threatened to upload it on social media. The sender later deleted the video and the complainant blocked the number. "Two days later he again got a call from a person who identified himself as Hemant Malhotra claiming to be calling from YouTube who said that if he wanted him to delete the video he should immediately pay up. The complainant was told that if he refused to pay, the police would arrest him for obscenity. The complainant transferred Rs 71,300 in various instalments However, the demand continued which is when he approached the police to file a complaint," said an officer.