Bhatkal Vegetable Trader Receives Extortion Calls; Private Photos Threatened to be Leaked

Bhatkal, Aug 21: A prominent vegetable trader from Bhatkal has approached the police after he and his wife received repeated extortion calls threatening to circulate alleged private photos and videos of a family member.

According to the complaint filed at the Town Police Station by the trader, Anwar Basha, the first call came on August 16 while he was working at his shop. The unknown caller claimed to have private content linked to a family member and demanded ₹20 lakh, warning that the material would be made public if the demand was not met.

In the following days, the threats continued. On August 18 and 19, Basha’s wife also received similar calls. This time, the caller reduced the extortion demand to ₹15 lakh, while repeating the threat of making the alleged photos and videos viral if they refused to pay.

Taking the matter seriously, Anwar Basha and his wife filed a complaint with the Town Police. Following this, the police have registered a case and initiated an investigation into the matter.

Authorities have not yet revealed the identity of the caller and are currently tracing the phone numbers used for the threats. Police say strict action will be taken against those involved in such blackmail attempts.

Source: Local police complaint records (as reported by Fikrokhabar correspondent).