Union Minister Prahlad Patel gets 'sextortion' calls, Delhi Crime Branch nab 2 from Rajasthan, mastermind still on run

Two people have been arrested from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur for allegedly making “sextortion calls” to Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel. The mastermind is still absconding and a hunt is on to nab him, a Delhi Police officer said. The incident was reported to the Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora by Union of State for Jal Shakti and Food Processing Industries Prahlad Singh Patel’s personal secretary, Alok Mohan, in the last week of June. After registering the FIR, the crime branch of Delhi Police arrested two men - Mohammad Vakil and Mohammad Sahib from Bharatpur in the first week of July. “The mastermind, Mohammad Sabir, is still absconding and a hunt is on to nab him,” the Delhi Police officer said. During the investigation by the Crime Branch, it was revealed that the arrested men were part of an organised gang involved in sextortion calls and blackmail activities. As per the complaint, the accused made a direct WhatsApp video call to Prahlad Patel on his mobile number when he was visiting his village in Madhya Pradesh Patel received the video call from an unknown number in which the caller played a porn clip with the intention of blackmailing him. “Patel immediately disconnected the call. He then received a call in which the caller threatened to release his video clip on social media,” an officer said. Patel then immediately informed the police who traced the two phone numbers from which he got the calls. It was found that the call was made from a number registered in the name of Mohammad Sabir, a resident of Bharatpur, and to an address in Assam. “The investigation team got to know that one SIM was used in 36 International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers, while the other one was used in 18 IMEI numbers,” the officer said. The police said it laid a trap with the assistance of local police informers and arrested two accused. “Police recovered one of the cellphones from which the video call was made and sent it for forensic examination,” an officer said.