NEW DELHI:  Having been arrested 3 men, Delhi Police's Crime Branch on Tuesday claimed to have busted a gang of fraudsters who extorted Rs 1.8 crore from a retired ITBP Commandant after blackmailing and threatening him to upload his obscene video online, said a senior police official.

The accused have been named as Neeraj (22), Ajit Singh (23), and Jarif (30), all of whom are inhabitants of Mathura district in Rajasthan (Uttar Pradesh).

Ravindra Singh Yadav, a special commissioner of police, said: "Information was received in the Inter State Cell that a retired Commandant from ITBP had filed a complaint with South West District Police, in which he alleged that he came across a woman on 'Whatsapp,' who threatened him to viral an obscene video on various social media (Crime).

In order to extort money to ban the pornographic video on social media, the caller pretended to be Inspector Ram Kumar Malhotra from the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police, the Special CP said.

The victim was later informed by the sextortionist gang that the girl who had phoned him had committed suicide in Rajasthan and that a murder case would be filed against him as a result of the convoluted situation.

"To halt the murder investigation, the gang continued to demand money while posing as senior police officers and MHA officials. The defendants extorted a total of roughly Rs 1.8 crore throughout the course of the occurrences. They continued to demand more money from the complainant even after that "The Special CP said.

The police squad gathered data, examined more than 200 mobile phones, and gained information on more than 20 bank accounts from several banks during the inquiry.

"It was discovered after examining the bank account information that the alleged extortors had stolen roughly Rs. 1.80 crore. It was also determined through technological investigation that they previously operated the gang out of Mathura and Bharatpur using various mobile phone numbers "The Special CP added.

All three accused were captured following raids in Bharatpur and Mathura. Police said that further investigation is going on.

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