Daijiworld Media Network - Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, May 4: The Ahmedabad City Cyber Crime Branch has busted a sophisticated online blackmail racket, arresting Rajnish Govindlal Bhargava, who allegedly posed as a woman astrologer and “Love Guru” on social media.

Bhargava, a B.A. graduate from Bikaner in Rajasthan, was arrested within seven days of a complaint being filed. He reportedly operated under the pseudonym “Pooja Kinnar Guruma”, targeting individuals facing marital and relationship issues through platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

Police said the accused created multiple fake profiles, including ‘astrologer_pooja_kinnar_maa’ and ‘kinnargurumatasushilaji’, to project himself as a Kinnar guru and gain victims’ trust while concealing his identity.

Victims were lured through advertisements promising solutions such as “vashikaran” and specialised rituals. After initiating contact on WhatsApp, Bhargava allegedly asked for personal photographs under the pretext of performing religious ceremonies.

Investigators revealed that he then edited the images and threatened to make them viral. In several cases, victims were coerced into undressing during video calls under the guise of a “shudhikaran vidhi” (purification ritual). These calls were recorded, and the footage was later used for blackmail.

In one such case, the accused extorted Rs 1,43,951 from a victim by threatening to leak the recorded content after further payment demands were refused.

Police said financial analysis indicates the racket operated on a large scale, with transactions totalling around Rs 60 lakh over the past two years. In the last month alone, the accused reportedly contacted nearly 300 mobile numbers and cheated over 65 victims.

Bhargava is currently in custody on a four-day remand. Police have identified two absconding accomplices, Vikas Pokhraj Bhargava and Ravi Satyanarayan Bhargava, both from Bikaner.

Further investigation is underway, with authorities probing four bank accounts linked to the racket, which have already surfaced in at least eight cyber fraud complaints across different states.