Pic: He held a grudge on the victim. Three YouTubers already in custody for installing cams in her house and recording her movementsBelagavi: City police on Monday arrested a govt employee, T Vinod, in connection with the sensational case involving the alleged blackmail of a woman govt employee for Rs 50 lakh, after secretly recording her private movements inside her house using concealed high-end cameras.
A couple of days ago, the Malmaruti police arrested 3 YouTubers — Sameer Nisar Ahmed Sheikh, Abdul Nazeer Ahmed Makanadar and Mohammed Dilawar Balekundri, all residents of Gokak taluk, in the same case. Police sources said Vinod was the key conspirator behind the crime.According to investigators, Vinod allegedly acted out of revenge, claiming the woman employee was responsible for his transfer. Police sources said he also intended to use the extorted money to purchase a house.Police are currently scanning Vinod’s mobile phone for further evidence and possible communication links with the gang. With his arrest, the total number of accused taken into custody in the case rose to 4. Vinod was produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody. Meanwhile, the court rejected the bail pleas of the three YouTubers arrested earlier.Investigators said the accused allegedly gained access to the victim’s house with the help of her domestic help when she was away. Hidden cameras were reportedly installed inside bulb holders and were operated remotely, with police claiming they were GPS-enabled.Using the footage, the accused allegedly threatened to make the recordings public and circulate them on social media if the victim failed to pay the ransom. The woman officer later approached the Malmaruti police station, following which a special team led by inspector BR Gaddekar, under the supervision of ACP Santosh Satyanaik, arrested the trio on Wednesday evening.Police said they recovered a car, 6 concealed camera holders, 3 mobile phones, 8 memory cards, pen drives and memory card readers from the accused.
