Woman held for blackmailing Union minister Mahesh Sharma

A woman was arrested here Monday for allegedly demanding Rs 2 crore from Union minister Mahesh Sharma after threatening to make public an "objectionable" video from a preelection meeting of the BJP leader, police said.

The woman is allegedly part of a gang helmed by a man who ran a local news channel that was shut down after demonetisation, they said.

The video in question related to a preelection meeting of Sharma with some people which the gang had threatened to share with the media, a senior police official said.

"The woman reached Kailash Hospital, run by Sharma, today (Monday) with a letter from her boss. She sought Rs 45 lakh of the Rs two crore in cash, immediately after which Sharma alerted police," Senior Superintendent of Police, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Vaibhav Krishna told reporters.

"A police team soon reached the hospital and the woman was arrested after questioning this evening," Krishna added.

The other members of the gang are yet to be arrested, while an FIR in this case was being registered, he said.

The SSP said prima facie the gang was running this extortion racket for some time now and has targeted other people also.

"But the case is being investigated and would be revealed soon," he added.