TIRUPPUR: The district police arrested a gang of seven, including a 19-year-old college student, for allegedly blackmailing and extorting a Namakkal-based jeweller on Friday.
The accused were Krithika (19), Rajasekar (49), A Palanisamy (51), all from Erode; Arun (33) from Dharmapuri; Suresh Kumar (36) from Salem; as well as Nelson (41) and Naresh Kumar (38), both from Vellore.
Police said Ramkumar (name changed) of Pallipalayam in Namakkal runs a jewellery store. In mid-April, he received a missed call from an unknown number. When he returned the call, Krithika took his call and befriended him and their bond soon grew. Notably, their interactions were limited to voice calls. Ramkumar soon expressed his desire to meet her in person.
Krithika asked him to meet her privately at her friend's house in Sottamedu near Perumanallur on Tuesday evening, confirming that no one else will be there, police added.
The two met on Tuesday evening. Allegedly Arun and Palanisami came to the house then and allegedly videotaped the duo together. Following this, they blackmailed Ramkumar for Rs 2.1 lakh in cash and two sovereigns of gold jewels. Further, they took Krithika away in a staged abduction. Panicked, Ramkumar lodged a complaint at the Perumanallur police station that night. Police, led by Inspector M Vasantha Kumar, launched a search. The police traced the trio through Krithika's mobile number, police further said.
After police secured them, it came to light that they had conspired to cheat Ramkumar. Following the arrest of the student and two others on Thursday, police found that four others were also behind the incident. On Friday, the police arrested them as well and recovered the money and jewels.
"Krithika was studying BA History at a private college in Bengaluru and is Rajasekar's friend. These men already have pending criminal cases against them, including murder. They got acquainted while in prison. They were planning to extort money from businessmen using Krithika as a front. Further investigation is on," a police officer said.