Two of Mewat sextortion gang held for extorting from senior Delhi doctor, links to 25 similar cases exposed

New Delhi: A 71-year-old Delhi doctor was targeted by a Mewat sextortion gang, which recorded two videos of him in a compromising position during a WhatsApp video call and later extorted money from him for not releasing them on social media, police said on Thursday.

Police said that they have arrested two men, identified as Mahfuz, 39, and Aamir Khan, 26, both residents of Rajasthan's Deeg district, and a manhunt has been initiated to nab other gang members.

A total of 25 other cyber fraud cases and complaints from Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, as well as four from Delhi, were found to be linked to the accused persons through bank account transactions.

"Hence, 25 new probable victims have been identified as having been cheated by this gang across India," a senior police official said.

Their arrest came after a case was registered on the complaint of the doctor.

"The complainant paid approximately Rs 8.60 lakh as the extortion amount. As the cheaters continued to demand more money, he eventually filed a complaint with police," Deputy Commissioner of Police, East, Apoorvas Gupta said.

During the investigation, the money and communication trail was pursued regarding the cheated amount. It was discovered that the funds had been transferred to various bank accounts in Haryana, Punjab, and Maharashtra. Remarkably, all these accounts were opened digitally solely for the purpose of receiving the extorted money and lacked proper Know Your Customer (KYC) verification.

"The call details records were obtained regarding the suspected mobile numbers used by the individuals to contact the complainant. After repeated searches, the locations of these alleged mobile numbers were traced to the Mewat area in Deeg district, Rajasthan," the DCP said.

The duo were apprehended on the intervening night of February 28-29.

"The two objectionable videos of the complainant have also been recovered from the mobile phone seized from Aamir Khan," the DCP said, adding that further investigation into the accomplices of the accused persons, alleged bank account holders, and persons who withdrew money from the ATM is currently under progress.