FOUR HELD FOR TAKING NUDE PICTURES OF MAN AND BLACKMAILING HIM

According to reports, police have arrested four men for inviting a man to a lodge and taking nude pictures of him only to blackmail him later. Police, after receiving a tip-off, raided the lodge in Saligramam and arrested the gang on Sunday night.

Reportedly, a 24-year-old man named A Manthiramoorthy from Tuticorin befriended the 30-year-old victim on a website for the LGBT community. After having acquainted with each other over a few weeks, they agreed to meet at the lodge where Manthiramoorthy had booked a room.

When the victim undressed at the room, three other men entered and tied him up, police reportedly said. The gang took the nude pictures of the man and threatened to circulate them on social media. The gang also demanded Rs 40,000 to set him free and delete the pictures.

Police had already received a tip-off about the extortion bid and raided the lodge. The gang tried to silence the man by gagging his mouth after being alerted of police raid. However, he raised an alarm before they could silence him.

The other members of the gang has been identified as J Ilayaraja (30) from Madurai, M Mariappan (25) from Tuticorin and S Muthuramalingam (26) from Tirunelveli. Police reportedly seized pictures and videos of more than ten men from the four who used the same lodge for all the meetings. The gang has been remanded in judicial custody.