Police on the lookout for extortion ring targeting women in Tiruvallur

One person held; he had allegedly taken ₹7.5 lakh from a family

The police have launched a search to nab a gang which indulged in sextortion from a few families in Tiruvallur.

Sources in the police said Kesavakumar, 26, was arrested after his 23-year-old classmate lodged a complaint accusing him of taking a few lakh rupees from her. The investigation revealed that he was part of a gang whose members befriended families and entered into physical relationship with the women. Later, the accused would take videos of their intimate moments with them and blackmail the victims for money and sexual favours.

In this case, the complainant and Kesavakumar, who was unemployed, were friends from their school days. Since he was a classmate, he could easily win the confidence of the victim’s family. He would exploit the victim and her mother after giving them sedatives.

“The gang sent him to target the family. The accused would enter the kitchen after removing the window grille at night and spike their food with nitrazepam tablets. The accused had a physical relationship with the victims and recorded the acts on his mobile phone. He threatened to upload the videos to WhatApp. He also sexually assaulted the complainant’s sister,” said a senior police officer. The accused had taken ₹7.5 lakh from the family.

Booked as theft

Initially, it was booked as a case of theft. When the victim complained again, Superintendent of Police R.V. Varun Kumar asked an ADSP-level officer to take up investigation.

Later, it was found that the officers who handled the case initially had done a shoddy job. Sources said the SP had initiated disciplinary proceedings against those officers.

“We have launched a hunt to nab other members of the gang that is led by a local politician. The gang indulged in sextortion with a few other families and all the victims had relocated,” the senior police officer said.