BENGALURU: A YouTuber and three cops attached to Chikkajala police station have been arrested by the Bagaluru police for allegedly extorting around Rs 56 lakh from a tax consultant.
The accused are Praveen, a YouTuber and the kingpin of the racket, head constable Vijay Kumar, constables K Santosh and Manjunath. The police said that the complainant, Nagaraj Bandaru (34), was introduced to Puneeth. Puneeth allegedly lured Bandaru by claiming that he was planning to buy a USDT, a cryptocurrency, and that if Bandaru brought Rs 50 lakh in cash, he would receive Rs 65 lakh.
Bandaru arranged the amount and went to a hotel on May 5. However, Puneeth did not arrive on time and informed that he won’t be able to make it, and Bandaru left the hotel in his car.
Then, a team led by constable Santosh intercepted him and allegedly threatened him by accusing him of illegal money transfer and extorted Rs 6 lakh, the police said.
Puneeth called Bandaru again and asked him to come to another location. Puneeth, along with his associates, allegedly assaulted him there and robbed him of Rs 50 lakh. Bandaru filed a complaint then. Puneeth and other accomplices remain at large.