Two men, from Sohna and Nuh in Haryana, were arrested on Saturday by a team from Kolkata police on charges of sextortion.
The victim, from the Amherst Street police station area, told police he received a video call where he was allegedly shown with a woman.
The callers initially claimed to be from a video-sharing company and later said they were officers from Delhi police and they recorded the man’s reaction — to the picture of him in a compromising position — using a smartphone screen recording feature, the police said.
Over the past few months, the callers kept threatening the victim and allegedly extorted Rs 3 lakh.
When the callers started demanding more, the victim lodged a police complaint and the case was taken up by the cyber police station.
“During preliminary investigation, it appeared that the entire amount of Rs 3 lakh was parked in an account of one Satish Kumar. Tracking the details of the account holder, it emerged that he was from Delhi,” said a senior police officer.
A team from the cyber cell left for Delhi and tracked down the mobile number of the accused in Haryana, the police said.
“The team raided Kumar’s rented accommodation in Sohna and arrested him,” an officer said.
“Based on his statements, a 19-year-old resident of Nuh Mewat, Ramesh, was rounded up. Several mobile phones and SIM cards were seized from their possession.”
Kumar is said to be from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh and has allegedly extorted money from many in such a manner, the police said. Ramesh was one of his accomplices, they added.
On Saturday, the two arrested were produced before the court of the sub-divisional judicial magistrate in Sohna with a prayer for transit remand. Officers said after reaching Kolkata, the duo would be produced before a city court where officers will pray for the custody of the two accused.
“Sextortion is a common crime and many often dither from reporting it to the police fearing social stigma. Please come forward and complain for the police to start an investigation,” said an officer of the Kolkata police’s cybercrime section.
