2 arrested for blackmailing Pune techie with obscene video before his suicide

Two men have been arrested in Bihar for blackmailing a 22-year-old employee of a reputed Pune-based IT company and extorting Rs 1.77 lakh from him before he died by suicide, police told news agency Press Trust of India.The accused reportedly used fake social media accounts and an objectionable video to demand money from Shikhar Kumargaurav Saxena and threatened to implicate him in a false drug trafficking case.Saxena lived in paying guest accommodation in Pune's Kharadi area. On October 1, he died after jumping from the 27th floor of the Riverdale Suite Society building in the area.His father, Kumargaurav, filed a police complaint on October 14. He alleged that a person identifying himself as Ajaykumar Bhatia had repeatedly called his son, demanded money, threatened to implicate him in a false drug trafficking case and subjected him to mental harassment.During the investigation, police arrested Akashkumar Sanjay Singh, 18, and Rajkumar Sampurna Anand Singh, 22, in Patna on October 21 for their involvement in the crime, PTI reported. Officials said seven mobile phones, a laptop and a tablet, together valued at Rs 2.22 lakh, were seized from the accused. The two men were produced before a Pune court, which remanded them in police custody until October 30.According to police, the accused created fake Instagram accounts in the names of women who followed the 'RVCJ INSTA' page and used them to contact Saxena. They later persuaded him to communicate through Telegram.During a video call, Saxena was shown an objectionable video of a woman and the call was recorded. The accused allegedly used the recording to blackmail him and threatened to implicate him in a false drug case.The investigation found that Saxena was forced to transfer Rs 1.77 lakh to five bank accounts, police said.Officials said that investigators traced the transactions and froze Rs 1,14,498 of the extorted amount.Police are searching for Aniket Gupta of Ludhiana in Punjab and Krish Kumar of Arunachal Pradesh, who allegedly received the extorted money, as well as other suspects in the case. Senior inspector Sanjay Chavan of Kharadi police station is leading the further investigation.The case centres on the alleged use of fake social media accounts and a recorded video to blackmail Saxena, with two suspects arrested, part of the money frozen and searches continuing for others allegedly involved.- Ends