Vegetable trader in Bhatkal receives extortion calls, threatened with private photos

Bhatkal: A well-known vegetable trader from Bhatkal and his wife have filed a police complaint after receiving threatening phone calls demanding money in exchange for not circulating alleged private photos and videos.

According to the complaint lodged at the Town Police Station by trader Anwar Basha, the first call came on August 16 while he was at his shop. The caller claimed to possess private photographs and videos of one of his family member and demanded ₹20 lakh, warning that the material would otherwise be shared with others.

On August 18 and again on August 19, similar threatening calls were made to Anwar’s wife, this time demanding ₹15 lakh and warning that the photos and videos would be made viral if the money was not paid.

Based on the complaint, the Town Police have registered a case and begun an investigation into the extortion attempt.