Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
Panaji, May 25: In a significant development in the sensational Mapusa sextortion case, Goa Police, with assistance from the Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF), have arrested the alleged kingpin of the interstate extortion network from Dehradun after an extensive manhunt spanning nearly three years.
The accused, identified as Salman Khan, is believed to be the mastermind behind the racket that allegedly targeted wealthy businessmen through elaborate honey-trap operations and extorted huge sums of money. Officials said he had been on the run since the 2023 case surfaced and is suspected to have been involved in similar crimes across several states.
The case originated in August 2023 after a businessman from Mapusa lodged a complaint alleging that a group posing as officials from the Delhi Narcotics Bureau had stormed into his bungalow. According to investigators, the victim was assaulted, threatened and blackmailed, following which nearly Rs 30 lakh was allegedly extorted from him.
During the investigation, Goa Police arrested four individuals in 2024 — identified as Nivedita Sharma, Bhuvan Arora, Faizan Khan and Mohammad Basheed Khan — for their alleged involvement in the organised sextortion network.
Police said the gang operated a well-planned racket in which affluent individuals were trapped using women, secretly filmed in compromising situations and later threatened with public exposure unless they paid large amounts of money.
Investigators further suspect that proceeds from the extortion activities were invested into a restaurant business in Delhi under a partnership arrangement.
According to STF officials, Salman Khan disclosed during interrogation that he came into contact with the group through Nivedita Sharma at her residence in Delhi’s Kalkaji area. There, he allegedly met several other members of the network, including Mohammad Ayaan, Mohammad Wasid, Faizan Farzan, Yasar, Raj Chaudhary and Bhuvan Arora.
Officials stated that the group allegedly impersonated Delhi Narcotics Bureau officers to intimidate victims after trapping them. Victims were reportedly threatened with reputational damage, illegally confined, assaulted and forced to hand over large amounts of money.
As part of the operation, the accused allegedly rented a villa located in a forested area of Mapusa and installed hidden cameras inside the property. Police claim that Nivedita Sharma invited the businessman to the villa, where he was allegedly lured into a compromising situation.
Investigators said that later the same night, the remaining accused allegedly entered the villa pretending to be narcotics officials. The victim was reportedly filmed, physically assaulted, confined and pressured into paying substantial sums to avoid public humiliation.
Police believe the arrest of the alleged mastermind could help uncover the wider interstate network and expose additional victims and accomplices connected to the racket.