Fake human right activists held for blackmailing doctor couple

The Adugodi police have arrested a gang of four, which blackmailed and extorted a city-based doctor couple, saying they had recently performed an illegal abortion at their nursing home in Lakkasandra.

Claiming to be activists from a human rights organisation, the gang intimidated the husband-wife duo, saying that they had performed the abortion illegally and demanded Rs 10 lakh for not exposing them, the police said.

The arrested have been identified as Manjunath Reddy (36), Lokesh (38), Anjana Murthy (40) and Bettaraja (30). Two more from the gang are on the run. The gang had barged into Deepthi Nursing Home situated opposite Nimhans and threatened Dr Srinivas Reddy and his wife Dr Indirasen Reddy, saying that they would expose them through television news channels and also initiate legal action through their organisation. The doctors had recently performed an abortion on a college student with appropriate consent from her attendants.

Initially, the doctor couple did not budge to the gang’s demands reasoning with them that they have not done anything illegal. But, later when the gang continued to harass them, the couple gave the gang Rs 60,000. When the trouble continued even after the money was paid, the couple lodged a complaint with the Adugodi police.

“The doctors have performed the procedure on the patient for excessive bleeding, following all the norms under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act. The gang took the incident to their advantage to make some quick buck. We have booked a case of criminal intimidation and extortion,” said Boralingaiah, DCP (Southeast). Investigations are underway to ascertain if the gang is involved in more such offences.