The Kaggalipura police on Saturday arrested two men, including a reporter of a local news channel, for allegedly abducting and robbing a 68-year-old man from Hubballi, whom one of their gang members had reportedly befriended on a social networking site.
The arrested have been identified as N. Suresh, who claims to be the president of a labour organisation, and Chandrashekar, the reporter, the police said. Six others, who have been named as accused in the case, have been detained.
According to the police, the victim had befriended one of the accused, Ranjitha, on social media. On her profile page, she claimed she was an anchor with a news channel. “We are yet to verify this,” said the police. Once they became friends, she suggested he come to Bengaluru so that they could meet in person.
In his complaint, the man said he arrived in Bengaluru on August 25. They took a cab to a resort where they had booked a room. “When they were alone in the room, the gang barged in and started recording them. The accused threatened to make the video clips and photos public and demanded money to remain silent,” said the police.
Locked up
The complainant said they took the ₹15,000 in cash he had on him and forced him into a car. They drove to Suresh’s office in Govindarajanagar, where they locked him up and threatened to send the photos and video clips to his family as well as run it on the channel unless he paid them ₹25 lakh. The victim, who feared for his safety, said he had only ₹3 lakh and transferred it online to them before the gang released him.
The man returned home and narrated the incident to a friend after which he decided to approach the police. On September 12, he approached Kaggalipura police, who filed an FIR and arrested Chandrashekhar and Suresh.
“Suresh said Ranjitha and Chandrashekar hatched the honeytrap plan and targeted the victim to make easy money. They were inspired by similar incidents reported in the city,” a police officer added.
