Delhi Police bust Mewat-based gang of sextortionist, 5 held
Darpan News Desk IANS, 27 Mar, 2023 10:31 AM
New Delhi, March 27 (IANS) Delhi Police have arrested five persons, including two juveniles, after busting a Mewat-based gang of sextortionist which indulged in blackmailing and extorting money from people, especially the elderly, by threatening to upload their objectionable pictures/videos online.
The accused have been identified as Rahul Khan (26), Arman (21) and Azad (41), all residents of Rajasthan, apart from two juveniles.
According to the police, a 67-year-old man had filed a complaint with the cyber police station in Shahdara district wherein he alleged that on March 18, he had received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number in which a girl was performing some obscene act.
"After some time, the complainant started receiving extortion calls. Someone introduced himself as the SHO of the cyber police station and tried to extort money by saying that if the complainant does not transfer the money, he would circulate the complainant's nude video on social media," said Rohit Meena, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Shahdara.
Under pressure, the victim had transferred a total of Rs 13,70,000 to the cheater's bank account, the DCP said.
During investigation, the police collected all the relevant information, including the call detail records and WhatsApp chat details.
"All the bank details and phone numbers of the cheaters were analysed, following which raids were conducted at Bharatpur and Alwar in Rajasthan from where three adults and two juveniles were apprehended," the DCP said.
On interrogation, it was revealed that the gang used to make WhatsApp video calls or Messenger calls to the victims and start playing obscene videos of girls using a second mobile phone and provoke the victims to do the same.
The accused then recorded the calls along with taking screen shots. To commit the crime, the accused purchased SIM cards and cellphones from West Bengal and managed the fraud bank accounts with the help of other co-accused persons.
"To threaten the victims, the accused introduced themselves as 'Vikram Rathore', SHO, cyber police station, and 'Sanjay' from YouTube. They mainly used to target elderly people as many of them were reluctant to lodge complaints in such a matter," the DCP said.
The police have also traced money trail of more than Rs 40 lakh from the frozen accounts the accused. More than 20 victims were also traced who had transferred money into these accounts.
"A total of 24 videos were found from the phones recovered from the accused. Rahul, the mastermind, used to pose as Sanjay from YouTube, while Azad used to introduce himself as SHO Vikram Rathore," the officer said.
Notably, the drive against glorification of weapons had been launched on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to curb this trend. Under this drive, verification of licensed weapons are being carried out, besides verifying addresses of licensees.
According to the police, the murder occurred on May 30 and so far, six body parts have been recovered while a search is underway for the missing remains. The accused have been identified as Poonam and her son Deepak. Sources said that after chopping Anjan Das's body, the duo had stored the body parts in their fridge and started gradually disposing them.
According to the official, the victim Sanjay Yadav has a property dispute with one Ramesh Yadav in the village Barihari under Chakia police station in the district. The neighbours rushed them to the primary health centre in Chakia where the woman succumbed to her injuries.
In a video doing rounds on social media, the men could be seen chasing the van carrying Aaftab and managing to open the van's rear door to find a policeman standing inside, in an apparent attempt to attack Aaftab.
According to Delhi Fire Service (DFS) Director Atul Garg, a call regarding fire at a shop was received around 9.20 p.m. on Thursday. "The fire was in the shop no 1868, near Gurudwara, in the Bhagirath Palace Market. So far 40 fire tenders have been rushed to the site and no causality has been reported," he said.
The CBI has chargesheeted Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally, Sameer Mahendru, Arun Ramchandra Pillai, Mootha Gautham, and two government officers -- the then Deputy Commissioner of Excise Department Kuldeep Singh and then Assistant Commissioner of Excise Department Narender Singh. The charge sheet was filed before the Rouse Avenue Court.
