Former BBC journalist arrested over extortion charges in India

RAIPUR: The Indian Police on Friday arrested a former BBC journalist on charges of extortion Chhattisgarh, but the Opposition’s Congress says the journo is being wrongly implicated for exposing powerful minister involved in a sex scandal.

Soon after the arrest, Vinod Verma, the journalist, maintained that he was innocent and was being framed.

“I have a sex CD of Chhattisgarh minister Rajesh Munat and that is why the state government is not happy with me,” he added, reported ANI.

The minister has called the CD “fake” and said it can be investigated by any agency.

 

The Indian media claims that the clip of the minister went viral on the social media and WhatsApp groups soon after the journalist was arrested.

According to details, Verma, who is a member of Editors Guild of India, was picked up for questioning from his Ghaziabad home and was arrested later by Chhattisgarh police team on the basis of a complaint lodged by one Prakash Bajaj of BJP IT Cell, who alleged that Verma had phoned demanding money for not exposing a powerful leader claiming that a video was in his possession.

Acting on the complaint lodged at a local police station, crime branch traced a video parlor in New Delhi and its proprietor told the police that a person, whom he identified as Vinod Verma, had placed orders for making 1000 CDs.

Subsequently, police swooped down on Verma’s house and allegedly seized 500 CDS, pen drives, laptops and detained him.

However, the police did not elaborate anything on the contents of the CDs seized from Verma’s possession.

Senior BJP leaders claim that Vinod Verma is a close relative of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress committee president Bhupesh Baghel and has been closely associated with him for the last one year, allegedly managing his social media and related activities.