Police on the lookout for extortion ring targeting women in Tiruvallur
The Hindu
One person held; he had allegedly taken ₹7.5 lakh from a family
The police have launched a search to nab a gang which indulged in sextortion from a few families in Tiruvallur.
Sources in the police said Kesavakumar, 26, was arrested after his 23-year-old classmate lodged a complaint accusing him of taking a few lakh rupees from her. The investigation revealed that he was part of a gang whose members befriended families and entered into physical relationship with the women. Later, the accused would take videos of their intimate moments with them and blackmail the victims for money and sexual favours.
In this case, the complainant and Kesavakumar, who was unemployed, were friends from their school days. Since he was a classmate, he could easily win the confidence of the victim’s family. He would exploit the victim and her mother after giving them sedatives.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.