The Bengaluru Police arrested the Managing Director of Kannada information channel Focus TV on Sunday for allegedly blackmailing a BJP MLA. The Central Crime Branch sleuths arrested Hemanth M Kammar for allegedly blackmailing Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali by alleging he had a sex tape of the legislator.
According to the CCB sleuths, Hemanth had demanded Rs 50 lakh from the legislator. A resident of Yelahanka New Town, he had launched the channel in 2018.
Police say that on May 2, Girish Bharadwaj MLA Limbavali’s assistant filed a complaint with DCP Whitefield Abdul Ahad. Bengaluru Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar transferred the case to CCB.
According to CCB sources, Hemanth closed the channel a few months ago because of severe losses. However, Hemanth had allegedly been blackmailing MLA Limbavali since February 10.
“There turned into an explicit and morphed video of the MLA, which Raghu Mourya uploaded on Facebook in May 2018. He took it down; however, in February this year, Hemanth is known as up MLA Limbavali and advised him that he had a video that would compromise his popularity and that the Chief Minister’s office changed into pressuring him to provide them copies of the video,” the police stated.
Police suspect that Hemanth changed into seeking to extort money from the MLA so that it would be able to pay off the human beings he owed money to because the information channel becomes strolling beneath intense loss.
“He instructed the MLA that a man named Satish from the CMO desired the video and that the BBMP corporators from Congress and JD(S) or even the Anti-Corruption Bureau sleuths wanted copies of the video to be leaked to the media. He blackmailed MLA Limbavali and advised him that he could ruin the video if he paid up Rs 50 lakh,” the police brought.
Police say that MLA Limbavali’s assistant, Hemanth, on February 11 and asked him why he needed the money. However, Hemanth allegedly told Girish that he had obligations to fulfill. “Girish has claimed that the video is morphed. We have arrested Hemanth and are currently questioning him. However, we suspect that he wanted the money to start the channel yet again, and so he determined to blackmail the MLA,” the police brought.
Hemanth has been booked below sections 353 (attack or crook force to deter public servant from discharge of his obligation), 384 (extortion), 506 (crook intimidation), and 204 (destruction of files) of the Indian Penal Code and additionally below various sections of the IT Act. He was produced before the Justice of the Peace and is in police custody.
