Bengaluru, India: On Thursday, Bengaluru police arrested Kannada news presenter Divya Vasantha for her alleged involvement in an extortion scheme targeting the owner of a spa on Indiranagar’s 100 Feet Road. Vasantha was apprehended in Kerala and subsequently brought back to Bengaluru for further investigation.
The case also led to the earlier arrests of Rajanukunte Venkatesh, who falsely claimed to be the CEO of a local Kannada channel, and Sandesh Vasantha, Divya Vasantha’s brother. According to reports, the trio conspired to extort money from the owner of the ‘Tree Spa and Beauty Parlour’ by hiring a woman from northeast India to join the spa as a masseuse.
Sandesh Vasantha later visited the spa and recorded a video with the hired masseuse, making it appear as though the spa was operating a prostitution racket. Divya Vasantha then approached the spa owner with the video, demanding ₹15 lakh and threatening to broadcast the footage on a local news channel if the owner did not comply. The owner, however, claimed he only had ₹1 lakh, but the accused insisted on at least ₹8 lakh to delete the video.
On July 1, the spa owner filed a complaint with the Jeevan Bhima Nagar police. Investigations revealed that Rajanukunte Venkatesh was not associated with any news channel and that the accused had created a WhatsApp group to extort money from various business owners.
The police continue to investigate the case, looking into potential additional victims and further involvement by the accused.
