Mastermind held in Dehradun after nearly three-year hunt
PANAJI
In a major breakthrough in the high-profile Mapusa sextortion case, Goa Police, in coordination with the Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF), on Sunday arrested the alleged mastermind of the interstate racket from Dehradun, nearly three years after a Mapusa businessman was allegedly blackmailed and extorted.
The accused, identified as Salman Khan, is accused of orchestrating the racket and allegedly extorting lakhs of rupees from the businessman. Police said he had been absconding since the 2023 incident and is suspected to have carried out similar offences in multiple states.
The case dates back to August 2023 when a group posing as officials of the Delhi Narcotics Bureau allegedly raided the complainant’s bungalow in Mapusa. The victim was allegedly assaulted, intimidated and later blackmailed, with the accused extorting around Rs 30 lakh from him.
Following the complaint, Goa Police arrested four accused in 2024 – Nivedita Sharma, Bhuvan Arora, Faizan Khan and Mohammad Basheed Khan for their alleged role in the racket.
Investigators said the group operated a sophisticated sextortion network targeting affluent businessmen using women as bait. Victims were allegedly lured into compromising situations, secretly recorded and later threatened with exposure to extort money.
Police suspect the accused used proceeds from the racket to establish a restaurant business in Delhi through a partnership arrangement.
According to STF officials, Salman Khan revealed during interrogation that he became associated with the group through Nivedita Sharma at her residence in Delhi’s Kalkaji area, where he met other alleged members including Mohammad Ayaan, Mohammad Wasid, Faizan Farzan, Yasar, Raj Chaudhary and Bhuvan Arora.
“Together, they formed a sextortion racket which targeted wealthy businessmen through young women. They falsely posed as Delhi Narcotics Bureau officers, threatened victims with reputational damage, confined them, physically assaulted them and extorted huge amounts of money,” an STF official said.
As part of the alleged plan, the group had rented a forest villa in Mapusa and installed hidden cameras inside the premises. Police said Nivedita Sharma allegedly invited the victim to the villa, where he was lured into a compromising situation.
Later that night, the other accused allegedly barged into the villa posing as narcotics officials, recorded videos of the victim, held him captive and assaulted him before extorting large sums of money, police said.
