Third arrest in sexortion case brings back focus on another Raj village

On Friday, Pune police confirmed the arrest of Rizwan Khan (24), resident of Sihawali in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district, after he attempted to extort ₹1 lakh from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator Yashwant Mane after making an obscene call to him

PUNE: Another village in Rajasthan has come under scrutiny after Pune police arrested a local resident for sextortion in an MLA case.

The arrest follows previous raids to the state, where police had arrested two accused in two separate sextortion cases reported in Pune. (REPRESENTATIVE )

On Friday, Pune police confirmed the arrest of Rizwan Khan (24), resident of Sihawali in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district, after he attempted to extort ₹1 lakh from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator Yashwant Mane after making an obscene call to him.

The arrest follows previous raids to the state, where police had arrested two accused in two separate sextortion cases reported in Pune. Villages in Bharatpur and Alwar districts came under the radar of Pune cops after people from these remote places were discovered to be involved in various sextortion cases reported in the city.

Previously, Dattawadi police arrested Anwar Khan from Gurugothadi in connection with a suicidal case involving a 19-year-old college student and a sextortion case. In another case, Sahakar Nagar police arrested Shehbad Khan on January 13 in Raipur Suketi, following the suicide of a 23-year-old youth who had been harassed by Khan in a sextortion case.

Minal Patil, Senior Police Inspector (SPI) at Cyber Police station said,” During the investigation, it is found that the entire village is involved in such sextortion and frauds. Police teams across India visited this village at the frequent interval to arrest the accused, but most of them failed to do it.’’

Patil went on to say that the team meticulously planned the operation and arrested the accused late at night so they wouldn’t have time to retort.

According to police information, many men, women, and even minors were part of the syndicate.

“On the lines of Jamtara, these villages in Bharatpur and Alwar districts are known for sextortion and other cybercrime cases. These villagers obtain mobile numbers from various social media sites and use them to extort money,” Patil explained.

In the last week of January, Mane, who represents the Mohol constituency in Solapur, received a barrage of WhatsApp calls and messages from unknown numbers. The caller demanded ₹1 lakh from Mane using a screenshot of the call.