Student blackmailed over leaked private videos

Bengaluru: A 20-year-old college student has filed a police complaint after private videos she shared in confidence were leaked online, leading to blackmail and extortion threats. The victim, identified as Clara (name changed), resides in the Central Business District and shared the videos with a man named Anoop (name changed), who hails from Kochi and is currently in Cambridge, UK.

According to her complaint, Clara had sent the videos to Anoop via a messaging app in August 2023, trusting him not to misuse them. In April this year, Clara was shocked to find the videos circulating across social media platforms and adult websites. Despite her immediate efforts to report and re move the content, the videos continued to appear on at least 23 differ ent websites by June.

When she confronted Anoop, he denied any involvement. Her ordeal worsened when she received a message on Instagram from a user named Rony Ronel, demanding Rs 5,000 to take down the videos. Upon refusal, he threatened wider circulation and even shared a digital payment number.

Clara lodged a formal complaint with the Central CEN Crime Police. Au thorities have registered a case under Section 67A of the Information Technology Act for circulating sexually explicit material and Section 308 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, related to extortion.

The police confirmed that an investigation is underway to trace the source of the leak, remove the videos, and identify all individuals involved.