Nagpur: The Nagpur City Police Crime Branch has cracked a major sextortion and honeytrap case, arresting seven accused for allegedly blackmailing and extorting money from a 62-year-old man by threatening to make his private videos public.
Police said the offence occurred between September 5 and December 18, 2025, under the jurisdiction of Tehsil police station. The complainant, a resident of the area, was allegedly lured into a honeytrap, during which the accused secretly recorded private visuals and later used them to blackmail him.
The arrested accused have been identified as Ashwin Vinod Dhanvijay (39), Nitin Sukhdev Kamble (38), Kunal Prakash Puri (42), all residents of Ajni, Nagpur; Ritesh alias Pappu Manohar Durugkar (41) of Hudkeshwar; Ashish Madhukar Kavade (36) and Avinash Hemraj Sakhare (35), both from Gondia district; and Ravikant Kamble of Nagpur. Police also stated that four women were involved in the sextortion racket.
Investigations revealed that the accused extorted ?1.78 lakh from the victim through online transfers and cash. They later allegedly demanded ?2 crore, which was eventually negotiated down to ?60 lakh. Disturbed by the continued threats, the victim approached the Crime Branch office and lodged a complaint.
Acting swiftly, Assistant Commissioner of Police Abhijit Patil constituted a special team of the Crime Branch Anti-Housebreaking Squad. On December 18, 2025, after the accused called the complainant to a hotel to collect money, a trap was laid. When the accused insisted on receiving the entire ?60 lakh amount, Crime Branch officers intercepted and detained accused numbers one to three. Subsequent interrogation led to the detention of the remaining accused.
During the operation, police seized cash and mobile phones of various brands worth a total of ?1.56 lakh. Based on the complaint, PSI Pallavi Gosavi of Tehsil police station registered a case under Sections 308(2), 61(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The accused have been handed over to Tehsil police for further investigation, which is underway.
The successful operation was carried out under the guidance of Police Commissioner Ravindrakumar Singal, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Vasant Pardeshi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection) Rahul Maknikar, and Assistant Commissioner of Police Abhijit Patil, with a dedicated team of Crime Branch officers executing the action.
Nagpur City Police have urged citizens not to fall prey to honeytrap or sextortion attempts and to immediately report such incidents to the nearest police station, the Crime Branch, or the police control room at 0712-2561222 or 0712-2561333.
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