Bhubaneswar, March 23 (NationPress) The Commissionerate Police in Odisha has apprehended a foreign national from New Delhi on allegations of extorting money from a woman in Cuttack by utilizing her obscene images and videos, stated DCP Cuttack Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo on Sunday.

He mentioned that on February 26, the Cuttack Police received a report indicating that the victim in the Daragha Bazar police station area had taken her own life.

“The victim had left a suicide note referencing some international and local WhatsApp numbers. In this note, she disclosed that certain individuals were blackmailing her by deceitfully acquiring her explicit photos. She was experiencing severe psychological distress and ended her life due to the social stigma,” he explained.

DCP Cuttack further stated that the Cyber Cell of Cuttack Police conducted an extensive technical investigation and successfully retrieved login details of the WhatsApp numbers utilized by the accused from the WhatsApp company.

“The police, through additional analysis, identified the mobile number used to access the internet,” he added.

Moreover, DCP Cuttack noted that the Cuttack Police also traced the accused's movements in the Uttam Nagar and Palam regions near Delhi.

“A team from Cuttack police, with assistance from Delhi police, apprehended the suspect on March 21. The individual was identified as Djedje Raymond alias Chijioke John Okoye (31), from Abidjan, Nigeria, who was residing in the Palam area of New Delhi,” he stated.

The DCP also disclosed that Immigration Authorities would be contacted to verify the actual identity of the suspect, who holds a passport from Ivory Coast.

“The accused informed investigators that he has been residing in Delhi since 2020. He initially scrutinized the online Facebook accounts of professionals such as doctors and engineers, subsequently creating fake profiles impersonating those professionals. He would send friend requests to victims, particularly women, posing as these high-profile professionals. Police have discovered approximately 3,000 screenshots of such fraudulent profiles,” he continued.

DCP Cuttack elaborated that after establishing a friendship, the accused would entice victims into sharing their mobile and WhatsApp numbers.

“He also succeeded in collecting private images and videos of victims by sharing fraudulent photos and videos of himself. Then, he leveraged these private images and videos to extort money, threatening to disseminate the victims' obscene materials,” he added.

DCP Cuttack revealed that the victim from Cuttack had received a friend request from one of the fake profiles created by the accused a few months prior.

“The accused then managed to obtain some of her intimate photos, leading to blackmail that ultimately drove the vulnerable victim to take her own life,” he said.

He further disclosed that the police discovered that the accused had defrauded several other victims both within India and abroad through similar tactics.

He mentioned that the authorities found a victim from overseas who had given the accused 5,000 New Zealand dollars as well.

The Cuttack Police is expected to seek remand for the accused for further investigation into the case.