BENGALURU: A 21-year-old BCA graduate was extorted of gold and cash worth Rs 14.5 lakh by a man with whom she came in contact on Instagram a year ago.
The woman’s father, M Muniyappa (56), from Samanduru village in Anekal, filed a police complaint against the accused, Praveen, a resident of Kaggalipura, on March 6. Praveen was arrested on Wednesday.
According to the complaint, the woman is said to have been giving ornaments and cash to Praveen since July 2025. The ornaments were being saved for the victim’s sister’s wedding. The accused is said to have blackmailed the woman with her private photographs and videos, threatening to send them to her family members.
The incident came to light when her father opened the locker to take the cash for the wedding arrangements.
The victim, while doing a project for her degree, came in contact with Praveen, who promised to help her in the project. He started collecting the ornaments and the cash, claiming that he would delete all her private photographs and videos. The victim had given around 200 grams of gold to the accused along with Rs 5 lakh in cash.
“The accused has been taken into police custody in order to recover the cash and gold ornaments. Some cash and ornaments have been recovered. He is not employed and targets women on Instagram and other social media sites. His mobile phone has been seized and is being analysed to check if he has extorted others. One should be extremely careful before accepting a friend request on social media platforms,” said the police.
A case of extortion, criminal breach of trust, and cheating has been registered against the accused.