Gujarat-based businessman loses more than Rs 2 crore in 'sextortion' trap

A police official reported on Thursday that a businessman from Gujarat allegedly lost Rs 2.69 crore in a "sextortion" trap. The victim claimed that on August 8 of last year, a woman identifying herself as Ria Sharma from Morbi called him, who owns a business that specialises in renewable energy.

According to the police official, the man was later persuaded by the woman to strip off during a video call. She then abruptly ended the call and demanded that the victim pay Rs 50,000 if he did not want his nude video circulated. A few days later, the victim received a call from a man posing as Delhi police inspector Guddu Sharma. He demanded Rs 3 lakh while claiming to be in possession of the video clip, said the police official.

According to the official, a man who identified himself as a member of the Delhi police cyber cell requested Rs 80.97 lakh on August 14 and claimed the woman had tried to commit suicide. The victim made the payment after knowing that the woman's mother had contacted the central investigation agency.

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The man told police that a fake CBI official called him and demanded Rs 8.5 lakh to resolve the matter. He continued to pay until December 15 before becoming suspicious after receiving a fake Delhi High Court order indicating that the case had been resolved.

According to the official, on January 10, he went to the Cyber Crime Branch police station and filed a complaint against 11 people, alleging that they had extorted Rs 2.69 crore. According to the official, among other offences, the FIR has been filed under Indian Penal Code sections 387 (extortion), 170 (impersonating a public servant), 465 (forgery), 420 (cheating), and 120-b (criminal conspiracy). A probe was ongoing, and no one had yet been detained in connection with the case, he added.

(With inputs from PTI)