Jodhpur: The district police Thursday arrested two men from Mumbai for allegedly running an organised racket that lured young women with fake work-from-home offers, collected their private photos and videos, and later blackmailed them for money. Police said the investigation has also indicated links to a suspected sex-racket syndicate.Police identified the accused as Faizan Ahmed, a Mumbai resident, and Aamir Hussain, a native of Jharkhand currently living in Mumbai. The arrests were made under a campaign against crimes targeting women and children, said SP (Jodhpur Rural) Pankaj Yadav.According to police, a woman lodged a complaint on Aug 31 stating she had seen a Snapchat advertisement for work-from-home opportunities. After clicking it, she was allegedly contacted by an unidentified person who offered online work and obtained her identity details and signature. The victim was then kept engaged with tasks such as liking and sharing social media reels.Police said that during these interactions, the accused allegedly obtained the woman’s photos and videos on the pretext of completing online tasks. The material was later allegedly used to blackmail her, pressure her into nude video calls, and extort money by threatening to make the private content public.Investigators also found allegations that one accused had travelled to Jodhpur in Dec last year, met the victim at a hotel, and raped her, after which blackmail and money demands allegedly continued.Police said nude videos and chat records involving around 30 women were recovered from the accused’s mobile phones, along with work-from-home profiles and personal details—mobile numbers, email IDs and other information—of more than 200 women.Police suspect that the racket was operating across several states and had targeted women in Rajasthan as well as other parts of the country. “We are now examining digital evidence to establish the extent of the network and identify other people who may have been involved in this racket,” Yadav said.
