Man held for trying to blackmail Bengaluru woman

BENGALURU: A 30-year-old private company employee from Madhya Pradesh was arrested on Sunday for allegedly trying to extort money from a Bengalurean by blackmailing her with her private videos, which he recorded in October 2019.
Deepak Kumar Serkar from Betul district of Madhya Pradesh, and the woman, 25, met during his college days in the city nine years ago.
According to police, Deepak came to Bengaluru in 2008 and did his BSc in genetics.He befriended the woman during his college days. Deepak went back to his hometown to work in a private company and returned to Bengaluru in 2019. He started working with a private firm in Whitefield.
In October 2019, the woman attended a function at Deepak’s house in Venkatappa Garden, KR Puram. That night she stayed back at his place. Next day, she took a shower before leaving, but little did she know that Deepak had placed a hidden camera in the bathroom, police said
Demanded Rs 3 lakh ransom
Deepak later left the city and went back to Betul, where he landed another job. In November, he created a fake email ID and started messaging the woman on Instagram and Facebook. However, he didn’t get any response.
On December 4, he sent an email to her with the video and demanded a ransom of Rs 3 lakh in 10 days. He sent the video on her WhatsApp number too. The woman went through the video and realised she had been filmed in Deepak’s bathroom. When she took up the issue with Deepak over a phone call, he blocked her number and deactivated the email ID.
The woman filed a complaint with KR Puram police, in which she identified Deepak as her blackmailer. Probe revealed the email, messages had been sent by Deepak.
Deepak was arrested from his hometown and is now in Central Jail, Bengaluru.