The Central Crime Branch (CCB) police have arrested three people, including a private pre-school principal, for allegedly extorting and blackmailing a businessman using his private videos.
The accused have been identified as Shridevi Rudagi (25), her friend Sagar (28), and rowdy-sheeter Ganesh Kale (38), who has nine cases registered against him in various police stations.
The police said that, a trader from western Bengaluru recently filed a complaint, stating that during the admission process of his five-year-old daughter in 2023, he met Rudagi, and the duo began exchanging messages and video calls. The businessman, identified as Rahul (name changed), even bought a new phone to chat with her, the police said adding that Rudagi allegedly extorted Rs 4 lakh from him, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
The police further added that, in January, Rudagi demanded Rs 15 lakh and insisted that they live together. When Rahul’s wife and children were away, she visited his home and borrowed Rs 50,000 additionally. Facing business losses, Rahul decided to relocate to Gujarat with his family.
When he went to the preschool to collect his daughter’s transfer certificate, where Kale and Sagar were present in Rudagi’s office. The duo threatened him to release the private videos and photos of him with Rudagi, and demanded Rs 20 lakh to keep them from being shared with his family.
Fearing for his reputation, he agreed to pay Rs 15 lakh and initially paid Rs 1.9 lakh. However, the trio continued to threaten him for the remaining amount, the police said adding Rudagi used a former Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) name to threaten him and the trio are currently in the judicial custody, according to a report by The New Indian Express.
