Before suicide, Odisha bank official paid ₹26 lakh to Rajasthan blackmailers

The Subarnapur police said it has arrested the two accused from Rajasthan’s Alwar district after tracking down the two men, aged 31 and 19, with help of the local police in Rajasthan

Published on: Dec 5, 2022, 21:11:54 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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BHUBANESWAR: The Punjab National Bank (PNB) official found dead in Odisha in August this year died by suicide after being blackmailed by a five-member gang from Rajasthan which first initiated a nude video call with the bank official and later threatened to implicate him in a pornography case, the Subarnapur district police said on Monday.

Subarnapur SP Amaresh Panda said the bank official paid huge amount of money to the criminals under extreme mental pressure (Facebook/spsubarnapur)

“Mehboob, 31, and his associate Adil, 19, from Alwar district of Rajasthan were the two who blackmailed the bank officer,” Subarnapur superintendent of police (SP) Amaresh Panda told reporters.

Panda said the two extorted ₹26 lakh in 40 transactions from the bank official who jumped off a bridge into Ang river in the western Odisha district on August 10 after being unable to meet the demands of the gang. His body was found three days later on August 13.

The officer said he transferred money to 11 bank accounts between June 21 and August 9.

The Subarnapur district started investigating his death on a complaint by the PNB official’s father, who told the police that his son was being blackmailed by a gang.

Deputy SP Satyajit Mishra who supervised the investigation said: “The scammers made a WhatsApp video call to him and the moment he picked up the phone, a nude woman appeared on the screen. The scammers had played the video of a women undressing on another mobile phone and kept it close to the phone used to make the video call to bank officer. The call continued for 10-15 seconds. Minutes later, Mehboob called up the bank officer impersonating as a Dy SP from th Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and threatened him to implicate him in a pornography case. This scared the bank officer..”

The bank officer agreed to pay a few thousand rupees in bribe to Mehboob through PhonePe app which he did. The payments and the demands continued for the next two months, said Mishra.

The officer also used the ₹10 lakh bank overdraft facility that he was eligible for as an officer. “At times, he even borrowed from friends to pay the blackmailers,” said Mishra.

A team of the Subarnapur police tracked the main accused Mehboob with help from the Bhiwadi police. Mishra said Mehboob was accused in five-six other criminal cases and had been involved in other cyber crimes as well. “Though he is illiterate, he has managed to build a house in his village from proceeds of cybercrime… He and his gang scour social media for phone numbers of potential victims,” said Mishra.

(If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918, Roshni Foundation (Secundrabad) Contact Nos: 040-66202001, 040-66202000, ONE LIFE: Contact No: 78930 78930, SEVA: Contact No: 09441778290

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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