Prakash Surve, Shiv Sena MLA intimidated with altered video, FIR filed

Prakash Surve, a Mumbai MLA, recently filed an FIR with the Dahisar police station, stating that an unknown individual made video calls to him in which a woman was seen performing indecent actions and that a person from the same number afterward tried to extort money from him by morphing his footage. Surve, a Shiv Sena MLA from Magathane Vidhan Sabha, informed the police that he receives numerous phone calls and WhatsApp messages from individuals seeking assistance. On November 11, around 9.20 p.m., he received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number, saying, "Hello, how are you doing?”

On November 13, around 3 p.m., he received another WhatsApp message that said, "Hi." Because the messages were from an unknown number, Surve did not answer. On November 16, at 11:10 p.m., he received another WhatsApp message from the same number, in which the accused remarked, "Hello, Kya Hua Ji," and the MLA received a video call shortly after. "At first, I didn't take the phone call," Surve told the cops, “But when I got another call, I took it." A woman was performing lewd behaviours on the video call. "As soon as I realized what was going on, I promptly disconnected the call." "I received frequent phone calls from the number, and I told the guy not to call me or I will call the cops," Surve told the cops.

Surve's photo was blended with that of another individual and forwarded to him with a demand for Rs 5,000. Surve claimed he was threatened by the accused, who threatened that if the money was not paid, the video would become viral. On December 4, the MLA went to the Dahisar police station after realising he was being blackmailed. Following that, an FIR was filed under sections 500 (defamation), 506 (criminal intimidation), 66 E (violation of privacy), and 67 A (transmitting obscene content in electronic form) of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.

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