Mumbai model blackmailed over his nude photos taken for ‘audition’

The accused allegedly tried to extort Bitcoin money from the complainant.

The Kurla police recently registered a first information report (FIR) against an unidentified person, who allegedly took nude photographs of a 26-year-old man under the pretext of a modelling audition and tried to extort Bitcoin money from him.

The complainant received a video call through a popular messaging app. The caller said he is looking to hire someone for a modelling assignment (Representational photo)

The complainant, a resident of CST Road in Kurla (West), is an aspiring model. In his complaint to the police, he said that he received a video call through a popular messaging app on Wednesday. The caller told him that he is looking to hire someone for a modelling assignment. “The complainant expressed interest in the assignment and agreed to audition. The accused told the complainant that he needed to see his body, following which the complainant undressed,” said an officer from the Kurla police station.

“Later, the accused sent the complainant the photos and videos that he had recorded during the video call. The accused also sent them to some of the complainant’s friends and relatives. He then threatened to create a fake account on social media and upload the photos and videos if the complainant did not pay him in Bitcoin,” said the officer.

The complainant then narrated the incident to his father and the two approached the police on the same day. “We registered a case under sections 67 (publishing obscene material in electronic form) of Information Technology Act against the person in whose name the phone number is registered. We are trying to trace the accused and may take assistance from the cyber police station if needed,” the officer said.