A Gujarat businessman allegedly lost ₹2.69 crore in an extortion trap, a police official said on Thursday. The victim, who runs a renewable energy business, got a call on August 8 last year from a woman who identified herself as Ria Sharma from Morbi, he said.
The official said “Later during the video call, she convinced him to strip. She then abruptly ended the call and the victim was asked to pay ₹50,000 to prevent his nude video clip from being circulated”. A few days later, the victim received a call from a man claiming to be Inspector Guddu Sharma from Delhi.
He added “He extorted ₹3,000 claiming that the video clip was in his possession”. On August 14, another man, who identified himself as a member of a cyber cell in Delhi, sought ₹80.97 lakh, claiming that the woman had attempted suicide.
The official said “He paid the money, the victim was then called by a fake CBI official who demanded ₹8.5 million to settle the case after claiming that the woman’s mother had approached the central investigating agency. He continued making payments till December 15 to the fake Delhi High Court”. The order to close the case made him suspicious,”.
He then approached the Cyber Crime Branch police station on January 10 and lodged a complaint against 11 persons who claimed to have extorted ₹2.69 crore, the official added. The FIR was filed under Indian Penal Code, Sections 387 (extortion), 170 (impersonating a public servant), 465 (forgery) 420 (cheating) and 120-b (criminal conspiracy) among others, the official informed. No one has been arrested in the case so far and investigations are on.
