UP: Four toll plaza staff sacked, booked for circulating video to extort newly-wed couple

Sultanpur (UP), Dec 10 (PTI) Four employees of the Haliyapur toll plaza on the Purvanchal Expressway here have been removed from service and booked for allegedly circulating an "intimate" video of a newly-wed couple on social media and using it to extort money, police said on Wednesday.

The case was registered at Haliyapur police station on the basis of a complaint lodged by Sub-Inspector Raffan Khan, police said.

The accused have been booked for making the video viral and blackmailing the newly-wed couple for illegal monetary gain, they said. The employees allegedly used cameras installed on the expressway to record videos and then extort victims.

Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) authorities removed traffic manager Shashank Shekhar, system technician Ashutosh Tiwari, system engineer Pramod Kumar and another employee from duty with immediate effect. They are accused of circulating the video and blackmailing the couple, UPEIDA Project Manager Abhishek Chauhan said.

According to sources, IG (Ayodhya Range) Praveen Kumar, Sultanpur SP Kunwar Anupam Singh and senior UPEIDA officials reached the spot late Tuesday night, reviewed the case and instructed subordinate officers to take strict action.

Police raided Shashank Shekhar’s rented accommodation in Haliyapur on Tuesday night, but he was not found there, they said.

Circle Officer (Baldirai) Ashutosh Kumar said police took cognisance of the video linked to the toll plaza and acted on the directions of senior officials.

He said three dismissed employees are in custody for questioning, while efforts are on to nab the fourth employee, whose name has not been disclosed by the police.

"No accused will be spared," he said. PTI COR ABN AKY