Nagpur, India: In a surprising incident, a man from Nagpur fell victim to sextortion, only to discover that the blackmailer was his own friend. The case was investigated by the Ajni police.

The victim, who was searching for a bride, had registered on a matrimonial website. In March 2022, he got a call from a woman named ‘Sanam,’ who said she wanted to marry him. After building trust, Sanam convinced him to join a video call where she partially undressed and persuaded him to do the same. The entire call was secretly recorded.

Later, the victim received the recorded video on WhatsApp, along with a demand for money. Scared, he contacted the Cyber police, who advised him to block the number. The threats stopped for a while but returned in September when the victim received another call with the same video.

Feeling helpless, the victim turned to his friend, Aniruddha Motiram Dahake (39). Aniruddha suggested his phone might have been hacked and took it for three hours. During this time, he activated WhatsApp on his phone and started demanding Rs 25 lakh from the victim, threatening to share the video with his family if he didn’t pay.

The victim grew suspicious of Aniruddha's involvement and told him he had already filed a police complaint. Aniruddha then threatened him with defamation, tried to force him to withdraw the complaint, and even threatened to release the video and harm him.

The victim filed a complaint with Ajni police. Investigations revealed that the threatening phone number was linked to a woman related to Aniruddha. Police have now registered a case against Aniruddha Dahake, and further investigations are ongoing.