Ahmedabad Cybercrime police foil Rs 10 crore sextortion attempt, arrest 2 for blackmailing businessman with explicit video

Ahmedabad: It began as a private relationship, but soon ended up with a city businessman staring at a tough choice: lose Rs 10 crore or face public humiliation. His nightmare ended when the Cybercrime police stepped in, and arrested two people, including a scribe who is also an office-bearer of a political party, for allegedly threatening to leak an explicit video of the 50-year-old.The accused were identified as Ashwin Chauhan, a 39-year-old BBA graduate who serves as the Gujarat state vice-president of the Nationalist Congress Party and is also the editor of a daily newspaper, and Shreya (name changed), who is engaged in nail art, mehendi, and imitation jewellery work in the city.According to the FIR, Shreya got in touch with the complainant, drew him into a relationship, and covertly recorded his explicit visuals without his knowledge or consent. "Chauhan and Shreya sent the video to the complainant on WhatsApp and threatened to circular it widely on social media and publish it in a newspaper if he did not comply with their demands," stated the FIR. Investigators said the duo initially demanded Rs 10 crore from the complainant. When the victim resisted, the amount was allegedly reduced to Rs 7 crore, with the accused giving him a 24-hour ultimatum to arrange the money or face public exposure.Taking cognisance of the complaint, the cybercrime branch registered an FIR under Sections 308(2) for extortion and 351(2) for criminal intimidation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Section 66(e) of the Information Technology Act, which deals with voyeurism.Officials said a combination of technical surveillance, call detail analysis and examination of digital trails led them to the suspects. The accused were arrested on Friday, and electronic devices allegedly used to record and transmit the video were seized. Police said further interrogation was underway to ascertain whether the accused were involved in similar sextortion cases or if there were more victims.