BAHAWALNAGAR: Police booked six members of a gang, arresting two of them, for blackmailing a youth after recording his obscene video and extorting money from him in Dahranwala.

As per the FIR registered by Dahranwala under sections 292, 385 and 506 of the PPC, a young labourer, Saqlain, of Bahu Chouk, Chishtian, was befriended by Murad of Chak 173 on a social media.

After some time, Murad invited Saqlain to his friend’s house in Basti Hameedabad, Dahranwala, where he, in connivance with his five accomplices recorded his (Saqlain’s) obscene video.

The suspects initially demanded Rs100,000 from Saqlain, threatening him to upload the video on social media, but latter released him after extorting Rs30,000 from him.

Police say the gang had been trapping people through social media

Saqlain reported the matter to the police, getting a case registered against the suspect.

A police spokesperson told Dawn that two of the six suspects have been arrested so far.

He said the obscene video of the complainant was found in the arrested suspects’ mobile phones.

He said investigations reveled that the gang had been operating for a long time in Bahawalnagr district and was allegedly involved in blackmail and extortion, targeting many other youths as well.

He claimed that the arrested suspects confessed to have trapped several others as well through a social media app and blackmailed them through their obscene videos, but the victims remained silent for the sake of their reputation.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2025