The Mumbai police recently arrested a 24-year-old conman who allegedly cheated a Bengali actor by claiming to be a casting director in Bollywood. The conman had clicked half-naked pictures of the actor and then threatened her to make them public.
Police reports say that the youth was identified as Om Prakash Tiwari (24). Tiwari has allegedly conned many other people before, and this was not the first time he has pulled off a crime of this nature.
He reportedly used to do photoshoots for young and vulnerable people, saying that he would get them jobs in a web series at Netflix. Later, he would threaten to make the photos viral.
He had contacted the actor on Facebook in December 2021. After that, he invited her to visit Mumbai. He then did nude photoshoots of the actor in the name of audition and later started blackmailing her by holding her hostage to the threat that he would leak the photos online.
The victim is reportedly a resident of Kolkata. Earlier, she had worked in various Bengali movies. She had flown down to Mumbai in the hope of landing a role in a web series.
The actor complained to the Malad police. According to the FIR, Tiwari has been charged under IPC 345A and 67A. Police arrested the man within 48 hours of the complaint. Further investigations are being carried out to find out the identities of the others he may have duped similarly.
