Juveniles Among Six Booked for Extorting Gold from Student in Bengaluru

Six individuals, which included a pair of minors, were apprehended for allegedly intimidating and extorting gold jewelry from a 10th-grade student who was into online gaming, as per police reports from western Bengaluru on Tuesday. The victim endured threats and extortion for about six months before confiding in his parents, who subsequently filed a report at the Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station on April 15.

According to authorities, the two underage suspects were classmates of the victim and began harassing him over his engagement in Dream-11 and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGM) on their phones. “The duo threatened the victim, demanding payment, or else they would expose his gaming to his parents,” stated Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda during a press briefing.

“When the victim expressed his inability to pay, they coerced him into providing gold jewelry from his home. Frightened, the victim handed over 600-700 grams of gold ornaments to the duo, taken surreptitiously from his residence on multiple occasions,” the commissioner elaborated.

Additionally, four other individuals were implicated in the incident. According to the victim’s father, a contractor based in the city, his older daughter and son-in-law temporarily resided in a rented residence in Whitefield, storing their gold ornaments at his home. Similarly, his second daughter left her jewelry with him when she moved to London with her spouse. On their recent return, they discovered the ornaments missing, prompting the complaint.

“After initially denying knowledge, the boy eventually disclosed the relentless threats from his classmates over the past six months,” the official report highlighted.

Investigators subsequently arrested four individuals: M. Karthik Kumar (32) and Sunil (30) from Gangavathi taluk in Koppal, along with Veman and Vivek, both 19, from Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Kengeri Satellite Town in Bengaluru, respectively. It was determined during the investigation that the two juvenile suspects had passed the stolen gold to these individuals, who aided in its disposal. The four suspects were remanded to police custody for ten days by the court.

Law enforcement managed to recover two gold bars, crafted from melted jewelry, and Rs 23.50 lakh in cash obtained from selling the remaining items, valuing the total seizure at Rs 41.50 lakh.

“The two underage suspects received counseling and were released on station bail,” stated an investigator, emphasizing that the others faced charges of extortion and intimidation and were remanded to judicial custody.

Commissioner Dayananda highlighted the importance of monitoring children’s mobile and gaming habits. “We urge parents to guide their children to avoid falling prey to such addictions.”