Ex-BBC journalist Vinod Verma arrested in Ghaziabad over extortion charges

In an early morning operation, the Chhattisgarh Police arrested former BBC journalist Vinod Verma  from his home in Ghaziabad's Indirapuram on Friday.

Verma, who at present is the Digital Editor of Amar Ujala, was arrested over extortion charges around 3:30 am.

According to media reports, Verma was in possession of a sex CD involving a Chhattisgarh minister and was allegedly blackmailing him.

The police seized over 300 CDs from Verma's house. The Ghaziabad Police confirmed that the journalist's laptop and pen drive were also taken away. The case was registered against Verma at the Pandri Police Station of Raipur district under sections 384 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.

The senior journalist, who is also an executive member of the Editors Guild of India, was part of the fact-finding team looking into the intimidation of journalists in Chhattisgarh.

Investigation is underway, can't reveal the details but contents of the CD violate Section 67 of IT Act: Raipur Police on #VinodVerma case pic.twitter.com/i1eCkYwrPb

— ANI (@ANI) October 27, 2017

Journalist #VinodVerma arrested by Chhattisgarh Police on extortion charges being taken to Ghaziabad District court from Indirapuram PS. pic.twitter.com/m1vNdmwAEZ

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 27, 2017