Bengaluru: The CEO of a Kannada news channel,Janasri News, was arrested by the Bengaluru police under the charges of blackmailing and extorting money from a city based businessmen.
The 42-year-old Lakshmi prasad Vajpaye, CEO of Kannada news channel Janasri News was arrested on Friday.
Yash Broadcasting Industries Pvt. Ltd owned Janasri News is headquarters in Bengaluru and was launched in the year 2011.
In the complainant filed at Koramangala police station, the channel aired a derogatory news item against the businessman and the CEO allegedly demanded Rs 10 crore to withhold the rest of the episode. Apparently, The police raided the office of the channel when the businessman was handing over the money and seized it.
The Koramangala police then arrested Lakshmiprasad and another employee Midhun, who had received the money from the businessman.The duo has been booked under Section 384 of the IPC (punishment for extortion).
Meanwhile, two more cases have been registered against Lakshmiprasad in two different police stations, both for extortion and blackmailing. The businessman who filed the complaint at the Koramangala police station isn’t the first victim.
According to the police, CEO Lakshmi prasad followed a fixed modus operandi.
He would first identify a businessman, dig out information on the businessman and prepare a news item. He would then broadcast only a portion of this negative content and proceed to contact the “victim.” Lakshmiprasad would then demand money in return for not airing the full episode.
There are two more similar cases against Lakshmiprasad at Commercial Street and Mahalakshmipuram police stations in Bengaluru. South East DCP Boralingaiah, who is heading the investigation, is looking into Lakshmiprasad’s antecedents and will probe possibilities of his involvement in more such cases.
