Bhubaneswar: A woman holding a B Tech degree has been arrested by the Commissionerate Police in Bhubaneswar for allegedly blackmailing women by threatening to make videos of their intimate moments viral on social media.
The woman, identified as Sasmita Jena of Baliapal area in Balasore district, was allegedly running a blackmailing racket with the help of her husband, Manas Jena. After arresting the woman on Saturday, the police are now searching for Manas, who is absconding.
Police said Sasmita and her husband were making random phone calls to women, mostly nurses, and threatening them to make their intimate videos viral on social media.
Some women appeared to have fallen into their trap and paid huge amounts. The couple had allegedly extracted Rs 2 lakh from a married woman, who was in a relationship with a man before her marriage.
The matter came to light when one of their victims lodged a complaint with the police. The accused couple had called the woman, a nurse, and demanded Rs 3.7 lakh to not make her intimate videos and photos viral.
Acting on her complaint, the police launched an investigation and arrested Sasmita from Balasore. The police seized a mobile phone, a debit card, a chequebook, and a passbook.
During the investigation, the police came to know that the husband of Sasmita was assisting her in intimidating their targets by introducing him as a police officer.
This apart, the accused have targeted four other women. Sasmita’s husband has duped them by employing the same modus operandi.
Sasmita would buy SIM cards and mobile phones in her name and provide them to her husband. She would also receive extorted money in her account, said a senior police official.
Further investigation is in progress and efforts are on to trace the arrested woman’s husband.
