On Thursday (3rd November), two individuals in Delhi were arrested for extorting Rs 12.8 lakh from an elderly man by threatening to share obscene screenshots of his video call with a woman on the internet. The arrested individuals have been identified as Rajasthan residents Barkhat Khan (32) and Rizwan (22). They were arrested by a team from Shahdara’s Cyber cell.
The saga began on 18th July, when the victim received a WhatsApp video call from an undressed woman. According to police, by the time the man could understand anything, she had taken a screenshot of the call with the victim’s face.
Soon after, he began receiving calls from various mobile numbers, each of which claimed to be from Cyber Crime Delhi. “They threatened to upload the screenshot of him online and demanded money,” the Police said.
When the victim did not pay attention, the accused threatened him again. “The accused threatened him again, and the elderly man transferred Rs 12,80,000 into the accused’s bank account,” the police stated.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Rohit Meena, the team first apprehended Barkhat Khan in Alwar. Three mobile phones and several SIM cards were found in his possession.
During his interrogation, it was discovered that a syndicate was operating to defraud and extort people through such video calls, Meena said, adding that multiple raids were conducted and Rizwan was apprehended in Deeg.
Police have stated that additional interrogations are underway.