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Haryana: RTI activist, YouTuber held for extortion in Gurugram
The accused have been identified as Sukhbir Tanwar, a self-proclaimed RTI activist, and MK Maurya, a YouTuber
An RTI activist and a YouTuber were arrested on Friday for allegedly blackmailing and extorting money from the chairman of a private school by misusing the Right to Information (RTI) Act, police said on Saturday.
The accused have been identified as Sukhbir Tanwar, a self-proclaimed RTI activist, and MK Maurya, a YouTuber. Both were produced before a city court and have been sent to judicial custody.
An FIR has been registered against them at Sector 37 police station based on a complaint filed by Pradeep Kaushik, chairman of GAV International School.
According to Kaushik’s complaint, Tanwar filed an RTI against his school in the education department in October 2022 and allegedly began using the information to blackmail him. Kaushik claimed that Tanwar filed a court case to pressure him and later demanded ₹10 lakh for withdrawing it.
Kaushik stated that he paid ₹2.5 lakh to Tanwar at the court premises on December 5, 2024, to safeguard the school’s reputation. Although Tanwar withdrew the case on April 8, the alleged blackmailing continued.
Kaushik said new RTIs were filed in other departments, including the income tax department, on April 15.
In his complaint, Kaushik said Tanwar demanded ₹5 lakh more, this time contacting him through YouTuber Maurya. On May 8, Kaushik met the duo at his school in Sector 37 and handed over ₹25,000 as part of the demanded sum. The meeting was captured on CCTV, which was later submitted to the police as evidence.
Following the complaint, police arrested both accused and confirmed that a detailed investigation is underway. “The accused were sent to jail after being produced in court. Further probe is ongoing,” said a senior police officer.
