Maharashtra: Rajasthan man arrested in Pune teen's sextortion case

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The Pune police have arrested a 29-year-old man from Rajasthan in connection with the "sextortion" case of a teen from the city, who allegedly committed suicide after he was harassed and blackmailed by online fraudsters.

A 19-year-old man jumped to death after being harassed and blackmailed by online fraudsters in Dattawadi area of Pune on September 28. The college student had fallen prey to threats of online fraudsters and paid Rs 4,500 to them, but ended his life as he could not take the pressure.

"The investigations in the case led us to Gothri Guru village in Rajasthan's Alwar district, where we apprehended Anwar Suban Khan. He is the mastermind behind the sextortion racket being run from the village," senior inspector Abhay Mahajan of Dattawadi police station said.

A detailed probe revealed that majority of the youth and women from the village were involved in online sextortion, he said.

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Khan had direct involvement in the case of the 19-year-old student, who was blackmailed into paying the racket.

According to officials of the cyber police station, a total of 1,445 cases have been reported in Pune (from January to October 2022), in which victims have been harassed and blackmailed by cyber criminals.

Cyber criminals use women involved in the racket to target male victims through instant messaging apps. Victims get lured by photographs of women used as the display picture (DP) on the app and start the conversation, officials said.

After exchanging some messages and befriending the male victims, intimate videos are recorded. The victims are then harassed with messages threatening to upload the obscene videos on social media or share them with people on their contact list.

Harassed and blackmailed, victims end up paying the cyber fraudsters, they said.

In light of the rise in such cases, the cyber police have been cautioning people against falling prey to chats on instant messaging platforms with any woman who is overfriendly.

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