24-Year-old Held for Trying to Extort Money From NCP Legislator Through Obscene Call in Maharashtra

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Pune: The Pune police in Maharashtra have arrested a 24-year-old man from Rajasthan for allegedly trying to extort money from a Nationalist Congress Party legislator after making an obscene call to him, an official said on Friday. The NCP MLA has urged people to approach the police if they are targeted by fraudsters. Yashwant Mane, who represents Mohol constituency in Solapur, was flooded with WhatsApp calls and messages from unknown numbers in the last week of January, said Ramnath Pokale, additional commissioner of police (crime) of Pune police.`

Mane ignored several calls before answering one video call, which was screen-recorded. The caller used a screenshot of the call and demanded Rs 1 lakh from Mane, said the official. The MLA approached the Pune cyber police on February 2, following which the caller was traced and arrested from Bharatpur in Rajasthan, he said.

The accused, Rizwan Aslam Khan, used to work as a truck driver but was involved in sextortion for the past two to three months, said the official. Mane told PTI that he had received several explicit messages from unknown numbers but never responded. On January 31, I got many videos calls on WhatsApp. When I answered one of them, an obscene visual came on the screen. Sensing something was wrong, I immediately disconnected the call, said Mane.

The next morning, the caller sent a screenshot of the video and demanded Rs 1 lakh. He threatened to share it on social media and with the MLA's friend if the money was not paid. ?I then approached the Pune cyber police and filed a complaint. The police team tracked down the caller and nabbed him, said Mane. The MLA said he filed a complaint to send out a message that people should never give in to the demands of extortionists and instead approach the police to curb the menace. Last year in separate incidents, two youths from the city ended their lives after falling prey to sextortion.