The Dongri police have booked five persons for allegedly attempting to extort Rs 15 lakh from a social media influencer by threatening to leak a private video and later uploading it on Instagram when he refused to pay.
According to the police, the influencer, who has over 160,000 followers on Instagram, was approached by two men in May near Masjid Bunder. The duo allegedly claimed they had access to a private video featuring him and demanded Rs 15 lakh, warning that the clip would be made viral if he failed to pay. The influencer, however, refused to give in to the demand.
Woman involved?
During the course of the complaint, the influencer alleged that the video originated from private video calls with a woman known to him. He claimed clip had been recorded without his knowledge and was subsequently used as a tool to pressure him into paying money.
Influencer Speak
“They have been demanding Rs 15 lakh from me. The people involved are part of a syndicate and are scammers. They have been threatening me for quite some time, which is why I approached the Dongri police and registered an FIR. I have faith in the Dongri police and the justice system,” the influencer said in a reel.
Accused booked
The police have booked Mahija Syed, Imran Bengali, Shah Rukh Qureshi, Aslam alias Jerry, and the holder of the Instagram account used to upload the video as accused in the case. Police suspect they acted in concert to obtain the video, demand money from the influencer, and later publish the clip online after he declined to pay.
Video uploaded
About a month later, the influencer was alerted by a friend that a video showing him in a compromising situation had surfaced on an Instagram account. Mid-Day has accessed the video allegedly used in the extortion bid. In the clip, the influencer is first seen speaking against drug use before later being shown consuming tobacco-based products. The video then cuts to footage showing him in a compromising situation.
Insta account made for blackmail
The following day, a relative alerted the influencer after coming across the same clip online. The video was allegedly uploaded through an Instagram account created specifically to circulate the content. This account has around 50 followers, and appears to be a newly made account, police said.
Case registered
Based on the complaint, Dongri police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act — including sections relating to violation of privacy and publication of sexually explicit material in electronic form — along with sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to extortion, criminal intimidation, and common intention. “We have begun the investigation. No arrests have been made yet,” said Senior Police Inspector Gonduram Bangar from Dongri police station.
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