A Delhi-based businessman who became a victim of a ‘sextortion’ crime two times by the same group of individuals informed the police after losing a huge amount of money to the perpetrators.

If one is so unfortunate to have been the victim of a ‘sextortion’ crime in the past, walking into an exact trap set up by the same group of individuals is truly nothing short of a nightmare. A businessman from Delhi made headlines when he twice fell victim to the same group of criminals.

How was sextortion committed?

He first became a victim of the crime after meeting a woman named Pinki Tomar at Gurugram’s 32nd milestone. She got his number and gave him a call to set up a meeting.

When we first met, she led me to her house in Sector 15, where she gave me a drink spiked with sedatives. After drinking it, I passed out. Unclothed, I awoke. She threatened to broadcast a video of me online if I didn’t comply with her requests, she added, according to what he stated.

The following day, Pinki contacted the victim at the 32nd milestone again and brought him to speak with her spouse, Tarun, and another man, who both desired a Creta (an SUV). According to the police report, the man allegedly gave them diamond jewellery worth Rs 50 lakh and other expensive stuff out of fear.

“However, the accused kept extorting money from me. On April 11th, Pinki invited me over once more, offered me a treat that was drugged, and after I passed out, she made another film of me. This time, the trio was threatening to kill me and wanted Rs. 30 lakh. But I chose to switch to the police because I had lost a lot of money,” he continued.

An FIR was lodged against the trio on Tuesday according to Sections 384 (extortion), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Inspector Poonam Hooda, Station House Officer (SHO) of Civil Line Police Station, stated, “Since the perpetrators continue to flee us, we are conducting raids to apprehend them.”. She further promised that they would be taken into custody as soon as possible.

In 2021, there were 11,288 instances of extortion and blackmail, with a crime rate of 0.8—less than 1 per lakh people, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for all of India.

What is sextortion?

Blackmailing victims with threats to publish sexually explicit photos or videos of them is known as “sextortion.”

Blackmailing someone with the threat of disclosing sexually explicit pictures, videos, or information about them is known as sextortion. To stop disclosing sexual content, the offender frequently demands money or more sexual actions from the victim.

Additionally, they might make threats to post sexual data on porn sites or to share it with the victim’s relatives, friends, and coworkers.

What to do if you are a sextortion victim?

Contact a close friend or relative and stop speaking with the perpetrator.

To come up with answers and choose your next line of action, you must have confidence in the person you are working with. Even though the mere concept of not replying to your sextortionist’s messages could make you anxious, it’s necessary to consider whether you can put up with this circumstance indefinitely. Always say no because you have a right to be free from this mistreatment. You can start taking action to seek justice once you break off all contact.

Keep the evidence and let the police know about it.

To determine the scope, duration, and timeframe of the exploitation, evidence is required. To avoid embarrassment, resist the impulse to delete evidence from your computer. Instead, keep everything until the start of the judicial process. To ensure swift legal action, it is crucial to call the police as soon as the occurrence occurs.