Mumbai: 3 held from Guj, Raj for blackmailing man with bathing video

Three people have been arrested from neighbouring Gujarat and Rajasthan for allegedly blackmailing and extorting money from a 37-year-old Mumbai resident, police said on Monday.

The accused the befriended the man on social media and managed to capture a video of him bathing in the nude, which was used to blackmail and threaten him, a Malabar Hill police station official said.

"Even after he paid them money, the accused shared the video with several of the former's friends. The case was reported in June. A probe revealed the money was sent to three people from Gujarat and Rajasthan, who got a Nigerian to use the extortion amount to buy crypto currency," he said.

The three have been identified as Sawailal Darji from Ahmedabad, Darshan Bhati from Gandhinagar, both in Gujarat, and Babulal Darji from Rajasthan, the official added.

"We have recovered two laptops, three mobile phones, 25 debit and credit cards and four SIM cards from them. They have been charged under IPC and Information Technology Act provisions for extortion, defamation, threatening etc," he added.