Pay up or more pvt videos will follow, Kirit Somaiya allegedly told

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya has lodged a complaint with the Navghar police, alleging that he received a threatening email demanding ₹50 lakh. The email claimed to have explicit videos of Somaiya and threatened to release them if the demand was not met. The police have registered a case of extortion and are investigating the matter with the help of cyber police.

The Navghar police on Sunday night registered an FIR based on a complaint lodged by BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, who claimed that he had received an e-mail demanding ₹50 lakh. Somaiya, who has represented the Mumbai North-East Lok Sabha constituency twice in the past, alleged that the sender of the mail had threatened to make more of his private videos public if the demand was not fulfilled.

Mumbai, India - May 29, 2023: BJP leader Kirit Somaiya files complaint in connection with the BMC Land Aquisition Scam of Dahisar with Mumbai Police Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Worli Office, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, May 29, 2023. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

In his statement to the police, Somaiya stated that since 2017 he had been taking up several matters involving corruption and irregularities in various departments and bodies, because of which several political leaders and others had been angered. He alleged that it was because of this that he received threatening messages and mails on a regular basis.

The BJP leader claimed that on Sunday, when one of his office employees was checking emails on his official email Id, she found a threatening mail. “Regarding your natural beauty without any clothing, I possess explicit videos of you,” stated the email. “The previous leak was just a preview. The actual movie is still pending. To prevent the release of this movie, you must pay ₹50 lakh or alternatively you can choose to become famous once again.”

Somaiya said that the sender of the e-mail was referring to a 15-second video clip shown by Lokshahi news channel which claimed that he had illicit relationships with over three dozen women, and around 38 women had lodged complaints against him. He further claimed that to date none of his sex videos with any woman or any complaint against him had been received at any police station or by any other authority, and this fact had been accepted by the news channel.

“Since the sender has referred to the video clips relayed by the news channel, I realised that the unknown man was trying to extort money from me by referring to them,” he stated. The email, according to his complaint, had been sent from an ID in the name of Rishikesh Shukla.

Based on Somaiya’s statement, the Navghar police have registered a case under Section 385 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code against the unknown sender. They have sought help from the cyber police in investigating the case.