TV channel head, 3 staff named in blackmail case in Ghaziabad; 1 arrested

The owner of a local news channel and three of his employees were named in a case and one of them was arrested for allegedly blackmailing a head clerk of the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC), the police said on Friday.

The accused were allegedly blackmailing the head clerk with video clips, in which he was purportedly seen with a woman, they added.

Senior police officer Shlok Kumar told reporters that the GMC employee filed a complaint against two people, alleging that they had recorded his video with a woman.

The complainant alleged that the duo had arranged his meeting with the woman, a job-seeker, at a hotel, the officer added.

While the meeting was on, the accused took photos and recorded a video of the woman and the complainant and subsequently, started blackmailing him, saying they would make the clips viral on social media if he did not pay Rs. 15 lakh to them, the complaint stated.

The complainant agreed to pay Rs. 6 lakh and already paid Rs. 50,000 to the accused on February 13, the police said.

One of the accused, who was arrested from a bus stop in Ghaziabad on Thursday, said he was working on the instructions of the owner of the news channel, the police said. He reportedly told the police that the woman was hired to honey-trap the complainant, they added.

The accused was produced before a court, which sent him to jail, while the other accused were still at large, the police said.

The police officer said the district information office and the Press Council of India have been informed about the case.

-PTI