Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 2 (HBTV): A teacher for a preschool was arrested here on charges of extorting money and blackmailing a student's father with whom she had been in an affair, Bengaluru Police said.

The City Crime Branch (CCB), Bengaluru, arrested Sridevi Rudagi (25) and two others, Ganesh Kale and Sagar, for allegedly extorting INR 4 lakh from the victim and blackmailing him with photos and videos for an additional INR 20 lakh.

According to the police, the victim, a trader living in a western Bengaluru neighbourhood with his wife and three daughters, had enrolled his youngest child, aged five, in the school in 2023.

The teacher and the victim established contact and communicated through video calls and messages using separate SIM cards. Rudagi initially extorted INR 4 lakh from the student's father. She later demanded INR 15 lakh at the beginning of 2025. When he hesitated, she visited his home under the pretext of borrowing INR 50,000.

As the victim's business suffered setbacks, he decided to relocate his family to Gujarat and required his child's Transfer Certificate. Upon lodging a complaint with the school, he was confronted in Rudagi's office by Kale and Sagar. The two showed him private photographs and videos, demanding INR 20 lakh to prevent their release.

The father attempted to negotiate and agreed to pay INR 15 lakh, making an initial transfer of INR 1.9 lakh. However, the demands persisted. On March 17, Rudagi called him to remind him of the payment breakdown—INR 5 lakh for a former police officer, INR 1 lakh each for Sagar and Kale, and INR 8 lakh for herself.

Unable to bear the pressure, the victim approached the police, who determined that the alleged police officer had no involvement. Rudagi, Sagar, and Kale were arrested and sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

(ANI)