The City police have busted an extortion racket, arresting seven people, including a 19-year-old woman, for allegedly blackmailing a youth after befriending him through the social media.
Having registered a case, the Pettah police identified the accused as Jinu Jayan, 19, of Nanthencode; her husband Vishnu, 24, of Kannammoola; and their accomplices Abinsha, 22, Aashik, 22, and Mansoor, 20, of Vettucaud; Stalin, 26, of Vazhayila; and Vivek, 21, of Sarkara in Chirayinkeezhu.
According to the police, Jinu had allegedly lured two youths, one of whom she had befriended on Facebook, to their rented house on Bhagat Singh road in Pettah on June 23.
Later, her husband Vishnu and their purported accomplices barged into the house and allegedly threatened the youths and manhandled them after holding them captive in a car. The gang allegedly went on to extort an amount of ₹40,000, obtained by using the complainant’s debit card, and a mobile phone from the victims.
Upon investigation, the police found out that the entire incident had been orchestrated by the gang. The accused woman was found to have preyed on several youths, mostly college students, whom she had come in contact with on Facebook.
The accused were remanded to judicial custody after being produced at a local court.