Bengaluru: A woman in Bengaluru fell victim to a cunning cab driver’s scheme after sharing personal details during a phone conversation with a friend. The cab driver, identified as Kiran Kumar, overheard her discussing her marital problems and plans for a divorce while driving her in November 2022.
Taking advantage of the sensitive information he had gathered, Kumar resorted to blackmail. He traced the woman and her husband on social media, pretending to be an acquaintance of her male friend.
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Threatening to expose her secrets to her husband, he coerced her into giving him a staggering amount of Rs 20 lakh in cash and gold worth another Rs 20 lakh.
Even after receiving the extortion money, Kumar continued to harass and torment the woman, who was already struggling with depression. In desperation to protect her reputation and that of her husband, she borrowed 960 gm of gold ornaments from her mother and grandmother, which she handed over to Kumar.
However, Kumar’s misdeeds caught up with him when a bottle of Glenlivet whisky, a premium Scotch brand, attracted the attention of Police Sub-Inspector Mounesh Doddamani. On July 24, he noticed a parked cab with several men having a party inside. Upon questioning, the driver initially claimed his name was Praveen but was caught with his real identity as Kiran when Mounesh checked his purse.
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During interrogation, Kiran confessed to his involvement in a blackmailing scheme that had earned him a whopping Rs 40 lakh over the past five months.
The police eventually convinced the woman to file a complaint, despite her initial reluctance due to fears of damaging her family’s reputation. Assuring her full support, the police stood by the woman and her husband as they filed the complaint against Kiran.
Kumar was arrested on July 28, and though the police successfully retrieved the pawned gold, officials revealed that he had irresponsibly wasted the Rs 20 lakh in online betting.
