Gwalior police have dismantled a sophisticated extortion racket masterminded by 22-year-old engineering student Radha Chaubey, who, along with accomplices Bhupendra Dhakad and Brijesh Dhakad, used hidden spy cameras to record couples in hotel rooms and blackmail them. The gang, operating out of Hotel Virat Inn, targeted young couples, extorting money by threatening to leak intimate videos online, police said.

The scheme came to light after 27-year-old Pushpendra Prajapati from Chinor filed a complaint. On July 26, Prajapati and his girlfriend stayed in Room 203 of Hotel Virat Inn, booked by Chaubey, a friend of the girlfriend. Days later, he received WhatsApp messages demanding Rs 1 lakh to prevent the release of a compromising video. Terrified, Prajapati paid Rs 5,000 initially and later Rs 45,000 to a Bank of Maharashtra account. When the gang demanded another Rs 50,000, he alerted his brother and approached the University Police Station, leading to the arrests.

Police investigations revealed a chilling modus operandi. Chaubey would book rooms at Hotel Virat Inn, posing as a guest, while Bhupendra and Brijesh, both from Morena, installed spy cameras disguised as bulb holders. The gang later retrieved the devices to extract recordings, which were stored on mobile phones and pen drives. Multiple couples’ videos were recovered, indicating a broader blackmail scheme. During interrogation, Chaubey confessed that financial struggles and ambitions to fund her MBA studies drove her to form the gang. She played a “sympathetic friend” to victims, offering fake help to heighten their distress, a tactic to pressure payments.

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Jhansi Road CSP Hina Khan confirmed the arrests, stating, “The accused are in custody, charged under IPC sections for extortion, cheating, and criminal conspiracy, and IT Act provisions for privacy violations. We’re probing the hotel staff’s role, as the gang operated undetected for weeks.” The investigation is exploring whether the hotel management was complicit, given the ease of installing and removing cameras. Authorities suspect the gang planned to target more victims but failed to access additional contact details from the hotel.

This case echoes similar incidents across India, including a 2017 Gwalior racket where a hotel manager and waiter used spy cameras in TV sets to extort money. The recurrence of such crimes has raised concerns about lax oversight in budget hotels. Gwalior SP Amit Sanghi has urged potential victims to come forward, assuring confidentiality. The arrests have sparked public outrage, with calls for stricter regulations on hotel surveillance and guest safety. As the investigation continues, police are analyzing recovered devices to identify other victims and prevent further misuse of the footage.

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