Bengaluru: The principal of a preschool run by a central govt entity and her two associates have been arrested by Central Crime Branch (CCB) police for extorting money from the father of a five-year-old girl. They allegedly blackmailed him by threatening to upload his private photos on social media.
Sridevi Rudagi, 25, and her associates Ganesh Kale, 38, and Sagar, 28, have been remanded in judicial custody, a senior police officer said. Investigations revealed that Rudagi also dropped the name of an assistant commissioner of police (ACP) who previously served in the Malleswaram sub-division to blackmail the man.
Rahul (name changed), stated in his complaint that he is into a trading business at Kalasipalya and lives with his family in west Bengaluru. He has three daughters, and his five-year-old daughter was admitted to the preschool in 2023.
He became acquainted with Rudagi and they developed a close relationship. Rahul purchased a separate SIM card and mobile phone to communicate with her. The duo exchanged messages and video calls via WhatsApp and occasionally went out. Through this association, she obtained Rs 4 lakh from him, according to the complaint.
Rahul claimed that in Jan, she demanded Rs 15 lakh and insisted that they live together. When his wife and children were away, she visited his home and borrowed Rs 50,000.
Due to business losses, Rahul decided to relocate to Gujarat with his family. In the first week of March, he went to the preschool to collect his daughter’s transfer certificate. Kale and Sagar were present in Rudagi’s office. Sagar threatened Rahul, claiming to have private videos and photos of him with Rudagi, and demanded Rs 20 lakh to avoid revealing them to his family, police and social media. Rudagi and Ganesh supported Sagar’s threats.
Rahul agreed to pay Rs 15 lakh to protect his reputation and initially paid Rs 1.9 lakh. However, Ganesh and Sagar continued to threaten him for the remaining amount. On March 17, Rudagi called him, demanding the remaining money. She allegedly stated that Rs 5 lakh would go to the former ACP, Rs 1 lakh each to Sagar and Ganesh, and she would keep the remaining Rs 8 lakh and delete the private photos and videos.
As the harassment and blackmail escalated, Rahul filed a complaint with police. The accused misused the name of the ACP, who had no involvement in the case, according to a senior police officer.