Student discussed grandmother’s financial situation at school, which resulted in an 80 lakh blackmail plan
Student discussed grandmother's financial situation at school, which resulted in an 80 lakh blackmail plan
The police have arrested six individuals in connection with this case, which was reported in December of the previous year.
In a disturbing incident of online fraud in Gurugram, a 15-year-old schoolgirl was coerced into transferring Rs 80 lakh from her grandmother’s online banking account after being blackmailed with altered images of herself.
The 75-year-old grandmother reported to the Sector 10 police station in Gurgaon that her Class 9 granddaughter had access to her bank account, which had recently received a large deposit from a land sale. The grandmother claimed that the granddaughter was being blackmailed by individuals who threatened to share altered images of her. In fear, the young girl transferred Rs 80 lakh in multiple transactions to the phone numbers provided by the blackmailers. Following the complaint, authorities registered a case and initiated an investigation.
“The money was from a land sale. I am illiterate, and my granddaughter operates my internet banking account whenever it is required. Recently, we realised that the amount in my bank account was very low. When I confronted my granddaughter, she revealed the fraud. Some people blackmailed her by circulating her obscene photos online and forced her to transfer Rs 80 lakh from my bank account to their accounts,” the grandmother was quoted saying in Dec 2024 when the complaint was filed.
The police have arrested six individuals in connection with this case, which was reported in December of the previous year.
The most recent arrest occurred recently, during which police seized the grandmother’s debit card along with Rs 5 lakh from the suspect, identified as Naveen. To date, a total of Rs 36 lakh has been recovered, and the investigation is ongoing, according to law enforcement officials.
“Naveen is currently in judicial remand. In this case, we earlier arrested five others in Dec 2024 and Jan 2025. So far, Rs 36 lakh has been recovered from the racketeers,” informs the police spokesperson.
It all began with a simple conversation at school. A teenager casually mentioned her bank account and a significant deposit to a friend, revealing that she had access to it. This information quickly spread, reaching a Class X boy who informed his older brother. The brother then shared it with a friend, leading to a plan for criminal activity.
Now in custody, twenty-year-old Sumit Kataria established an online friendship with the teen. He allegedly altered her photos on social media and threatened to distribute these manipulated images unless she paid him.
Every few weeks, the blackmailer would come back with a new request. Over the course of eight months, the Class IX student withdrew Rs 80 lakh in installments from her grandmother’s bank account, which she could access. She then transferred the funds online to the account numbers provided to her.
Following multiple rounds of payments, the funds in the account were depleted. One of the accused then confronted the teenager at her coaching class and issued a threat. The instructor observed that the girl was distressed, and upon inquiring, she opened up to him. He subsequently alerted her family, leading her grandmother to contact the police.
