Chittorgarh: Police on Monday arrested Mahendra Kumar Bairwa (26), a resident of New Colony Kaimala in Alwar, for his alleged involvement in a cyber fraud and blackmail racket. The arrest followed an investigation led by Chittorgarh Superintendent of Police Manish Tripathi.
According to officials, a resident of Chittorgarh lodged a complaint at the cyber police station reporting a disturbing incident that occurred on November 6 at 11:35 pm. The victim received a WhatsApp video call from a woman with her face covered. Soon after, the same caller began blackmailing him, threatening to upload their conversation and video on social media.
Sensing trouble, the victim deleted the messages and blocked the number. However, he later received additional WhatsApp calls from different numbers displaying police profile pictures. The fraudsters demanded Rs19,500 to prevent the alleged video from being uploaded on YouTube.
Realizing it was a cyber scam, the victim promptly reported the matter on the 1930 cyber helpline, which helped freeze the attempted money transfer.
Following the complaint, the cybercrime team led by ASP Sarita Singh traced the suspect to Alwar. After interrogation, Mahendra Kumar Bairwa was detained and later arrested. He was brought to Chittorgarh for further investigation.
Authorities have urged citizens to stay vigilant against similar WhatsApp-based blackmail scams and report such incidents immediately to the 1930 helpline or the nearest cyber police station.
