Man arrested for extorting Rs 1.2 lakh from student after clicking obscene pictures, videos in hotel

NEW DELHI: A man was arrested for allegedly molesting, blackmailing and extorting money from a schoolgirl after befriending her on the internet in Indore in Madhya Pradesh, a police official said on Thursday.

The man was held late Wednesday night, Annapurna police station in charge Gopal Parmar told PTI. "The victim's parents noticed cash and jewellery were going missing often from the home over the past two months. Last week, the class 12 student's father saw a threatening message on her phone," he said.

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"When asked about this message, the girl ducked the query. However, she later told her cousin the accused had taken her to a hotel and clicked obscene photographs and videos, which were being used to blackmail her," he added. After the cousin alerted the victim's father, he approached police, the official said.

"The victim has told us the accused befriended her on social media, and was blackmailing her, due to which she was stealing cash and jewellery from home. The accused has confessed he has taken Rs 1.2 lakh from her. He is being probed to see if he has trapped other persons with this modus operandi," Parmar said.

The man has been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 354 (criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will there by outrage her modesty), 385 (extortion) and 509 (threatening over phone), the official added.