Cuttack: The Commissionerate Police on Sunday arrested a Nigerian national from Delhi on charges of blackmailing and extorting money from a woman doctor of Odisha’s Cuttack city.
According to sources, the foreign national had allegedly obtained some obscene photographs and videos of the individual and used them to extort lakhs of rupees from her. The woman ended her life as the accused kept demanding for more money and threatened to leak the explicit content online.
Later, her family members lodged a complaint with the Daraghabazaar police, leading to an extensive investigation.
“In the suicide note, the victim had jotted down some international and domestic WhatApp numbers. She had also mentioned that some persons had cunningly obtained her private photographs and were blackmailing her. She ended her life unable to bear the psychological trauma and social stigma attached to it,”Cuttack DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo told a presser.
The DCP said that Cyber Cell analysed the numbers. “The investigation led us to log in details and we came to know that the account was being operated using the internet from a mobile number. It helped us trace the location of the accused to Uttam Nagar and Palam areas in Delhi. Accordingly a police team, including ACP Zone 1 and IIC of Daraghabazaar, left for Delhi and with help of local police, apprehended the accused and brought him here on transit remand. Initially he identified himself as a citizen of Ivory Coast, but later it was revealed that he was a Nigerian national. We are verifying his passport to ascertain his identity,” he said.
Dnyandeo identified the accused as JJ Rehman as per the preliminary investigation. Five mobile phones and 8 SIM cards, including some registered in the United Kingdom, have been recovered from him. “About 3000 screenshots of Facebook profiles of individuals were found in the mobile phones. A technical analysis of his laptop, which he used for chatting with the victims by covering the camera with a black cloth, is also being conducted. His bank account details will also be analysed,” he said.
MODUS OPERANDI
Elaborating on the modus operandi, the DCP said that the accused analysed profiles of doctors and engineers on Facebook and sent friendship requests targeting women, by creating fake accounts of prominent doctors. “Once accepted, he would initiate conversation with them and try to gain their trust and later their WhatsApp number. He would chat with them using local numbers. The accused also shared some obscene images of people, whose identity he stole to start the conversation, and then obtained private images from the victims, which he later used to blackmail them and extort money using some international numbers,” he said.
Dnyandeo further stated that the accused had also extorted money from some New Zealand nationals using the same ploy. The DCP warned people against falling into such traps. “Keep your profile private and don’t share your private pictures with anyone no matter how close that person is with you,” he added.
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