KOLLAM: The police have arrested a television actress and her friend on charges of honey-trapping a 75-year-old man from Paravoor and extorting Rs 11 lakh from him. The accused have been identified as Nithya Sasi, a native of Pathanamthitta, and Binu, a resident of Paravoor in Kollam. The victim is an ex-serviceman and a former employee of Kerala University.
According to Paravoor police, the series of events began on May 24 when Nithya got in touch with the elderly man, on the pretext of taking a house on rent from him. Subsequently, during her visit to the victim’s house, she established a rapport with him.
However, things took a dark turn when, during one of her visits, she coerced him into undressing and captured explicit photographs with her. Binu was involved in clicking the compromising images. Utilising the pictures, they started blackmailing the victim and demanded a sum of Rs 25 lakh from him. Also, they threatened to release the photos on social media if he failed to obey their instructions. Fearing consequences, the victim succumbed to the pressure and paid Rs 11 lakh to the accused.
When the accused made further attempts to extort money from the victim, he lodged a formal complaint with the Paravoor police on July 18. The police are investigating whether the accused were involved in similar fraudulent activities in the past. The accused were produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody.