Extortion gang busted: 10 held

Vijayawada: A case of extortion unearthed in the city with a gang of 10 resorting to blackmailing. The city police on Thursday took all the gang members into custody when they were demanding money from a priest in the city. They used to select their targets, trap them into sexual acts and demand money.

• The gang has lured a priest of a church to a hotel and drugged him and then videographed his intimacy with a woman
• Sources say the gang demanded a ransom of Rs 4 crore from the priest and he had paid them Rs 1.30 crore

According to the sources, the gang leader, Raavi Prakash, who was sacked from a television channel, is the leader of the gang. He later formed a gang and began to exploit gullible people by filming them in sexual acts and demand money. The other day, when they visited a priest demanding money, the task force sleuths apprehended them with the help of an advocate.

The police took Prakash and one of his associates into custody and after interrogation they picked up the other members of the gang from their houses at Hanuman Junction, Gannavaram, Agiripalli, Kankipadu and Vijayawada city. The police also questioned the priest about the case in which he had already paid Rs 1.30 crore to the gang against the total ransom of Rs 4 crore.

The sources said that Prakash had first approached the priest in his church at Gunadala a few months ago and had befriended him. He had told the priest that he had visited him earlier when his family was in troubles and the family had overcome the problems because of his prayers and blessings. As a gratitude, Prakash told the priest that he wanted to give him a dinner for which the priest accepted.

A date was fixed for the dinner and the priest was invited to a hotel at Ibrahimpatnam on the outskirts of the city, where they have already fixed cameras. He was guided into a room where a woman, who is also part of the gang, was also present and Prakash had reportedly introduced her to the priest as his wife. The ‘couple’ had served food and juice in the hotel room.

The priest reportedly lost his consciousness under the influence of drugs. During the drugged state, they videographed some intimate moments between the priest and woman. Later, Prakash approached the priest with the video and demanded Rs 4 crore. The priest out of fear paid him Rs 50 lakh first, followed by Rs 30 lakh and Rs 55 lakh in three instalments.

On Wednesday night, they had again approached the priest seeking more money. At this time, the priest had alerted one of his friends, who went to the venue with the task force police and nabbed the gang leader. The police sources said that the gang members, including the woman, were taken into custody and were being questioned. The sources say that the police are likely to produce the gang members in the next couple of days after the case is registered.