Nagpur influencer, 19, alleges Rs 3 lakh extorted with obscene video after fake job offer

A 19-year-old social media influencer from Nagpur has filed a complaint alleging cyber blackmail and organised extortion. According to the complaint, she was trapped with the promise of a good job and then made to pay Rs 3 lakh over an obscene video. Tehsil police have registered a case on the complaint.

The complaint alleges that the accused threatened to circulate the video on social media, demanded Rs 10 lakh and also threatened to kill her, so that she would come under pressure.

According to the complaint, the young woman had for the past few years been using various social media apps and educational websites for work and entertainment. During this time, she came into contact with the accused through online platforms.

The main accused has been identified as Irfan Ali. He allegedly claimed to be a big businessman from Uttar Pradesh and a leader of a political organisation. He allegedly assured her that he could get her a good job, and thus won her trust.

It is alleged that, on the pretext of the job, the accused obtained her personal documents online. Police are also investigating whether these documents were later used elsewhere without her permission.

The complaint also says the accused gradually pressured her into obscene conversation on video calls. She was persuaded into an intimate virtual conversation, which was secretly recorded through screen recording. It is alleged that this recording was used as a weapon, and that she was threatened with having the video posted on social media and being publicly defamed if she did not pay the amount demanded.

According to the complaint, the accused demanded Rs 10 lakh and threatened both to make the video viral and to kill her. Out of fear of the threats and of the video becoming public, the young woman paid Rs 3 lakh. The threats reportedly did not stop even after the payment, following which she approached the police.

The police records name Kiran Mittal, Payal Destiny, Irfan Ali, Virendra Rana and Nitin Jain, along with some others. Their alleged roles and mutual links are being examined. The links of those named in the complaint are said to extend to Mohali, Chandigarh, Goa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, widening the scope of the investigation.

Investigators are examining whether the accused acted separately or together, and whether the job offer, the taking of documents, the recording of the intimate conversation and the subsequent extortion were parts of a planned chain. Police will also find out who received the money and whether it went directly or through intermediaries, as well as how the recording was shared or stored and whether it was circulated.

Tehsil police have registered the case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act. Further investigation is under way. Evidence such as digital records, video-call data, electronic conversations and bank transactions will be important in establishing the sequence of events and fixing the role of each named person.

All allegations against the named persons are subject to investigation and the court's decision.