Sextortion: A 36-year-old railway employee residing in Mumbai's Dombivli East, originally from Gujarat, took his own life after falling prey to sextortion.
The victim worked at the Central Railway's Matunga Workshop and lived with his family. The tragic incident sheds light on the rising dangers associated with online exploitation and blackmail.
The sequence of events began when the railway employee received a friend request from an unfamiliar girl named Komal Sharma on Facebook, which he accepted.
The interactions started innocently enough, evolving into conversations that ultimately led to video calls between the two.
During one such video call, Komal Sharma recorded an explicit video of the victim without his consent.
Komal Sharma proceeded to use this compromising video as leverage for extortion, demanding a sum of two lakh rupees from the victim.
Despite the victim somehow managing to arrange the funds, the extortion didn't cease.
The demands for more money continued, placing immense psychological and financial pressure on the victim.
As the victim faced immense pressure, he decided to take the extreme step of ending his life.
The suicide note discovered at the site recounted the entire sequence of events in painstaking detail, complete with the names and contact information of those involved.
According to the GRP (Government Railway Police) officials, a case has been filed against one woman and three men in this matter. Efforts are being made to apprehend them.
They also mention that such rackets are predominantly operated from Bharatpur in Rajasthan. In recent days, several cases of a similar nature have come to light, involving the involvement of local residents.
A police team is investigating the matter in Bharatpur and the Mewat region, particularly in relation to cybercrimes. Bharatpur and Mewat residents are suspected to play a significant role in most cases of sextortion.
Recently, a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) team conducted an extensive raid in these areas, leading to the arrest of dozens of individuals.
In the past two years, there has been a significant increase in cases of sextortion in Mumbai. In 2021, 54 sextortion cases were registered, and 24 of these cases resulted in the arrest of 33 individuals.
Among these 24 cases, four involved victims who were extorted for more than 10 lakh rupees each.
In 2022, a total of 77 sextortion cases were filed, with 30 of them leading to the arrest of 52 individuals. Among these 77 cases, 22 involved victims who were extorted for more than 10 lakh rupees each.
Notably, a few months ago, a 71-year-old businessman in Mumbai was extorted for 51 lakh rupees by individuals running a sextortion racket.
These criminals typically target individuals through social media platforms, luring them into compromising situations and then extorting money from them.