Delhi: Two journalists held for ‘blackmailing’ minister

“Nisha used to execute their operation. An ex-colleague…was initially hiding them in Kolkata, but they later moved to a different locality. They have done more such alleged stings in the past,” said SSP (Gautam Budh Nagar) Vaibhav Krishna.

A third accused, Nishu, also a journalist, was arrested on April 23 from Kailash Hospital in Noida. Police said a piece of paper was recovered from her, which mentioned that Rs 45 lakh should be provided by that evening and the rest of the money later.

Sharma has claimed he was approached by Nishu before the elections. “We had come in touch last month when she expressed interest in a door-to-door campaign… It was just a conversation. I got a call from another person in the first week of April, claiming they have a video of me talking about money, which was absolutely untrue. It later turned out to be a demand for money…,” he had said. Police claimed a video recording of the conversation between the journalist and Sharma had been recovered and no objectionable content was found.

Police added that “important information” was shared by Kumar and Nisha during initial questioning. The duo were produced before a Metropolitan Magistrate’s court in Kolkata after their arrest, following which they were brought to Gautam Budh Nagar police station on a 72-hour transit remand.