Transgender group robs businessman of Rs 4.3 lakh

Victim was allegedly blackmailed to disclose his bank details

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: While the city was preparing to welcome the New Year, an Andhra Pradesh based businessman was allegedly abducted, stripped and robbed of Rs 4.3 lakh by a gang of transgender persons, during the wee hours of December 31.

The matter came to light after the victim, Shaikh Srinivas, 49, hailing from Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh, had filed a complaint regarding the incident at Ashok Nagar police station. According to the complaint, the victim had visited Mehndi Pub on the night of December 30.

After having drinks at the pub, he reportedly visited a nearby Kerala restaurant for a meal. Srinivas alleged that as he exited from the restaurant, two transgender persons approached him clapping their hands requesting money from him.

Noticing that the victim was drunk, the transgenders pulled him into an auto and took him to a hotel on Residency Road around 2:30 am on Saturday, where some more miscreants joined them. The transgenders allegedly stripped the victim of his clothes and captured a video of him. They also robbed him of his wrist watch, ring, chain, debit cards along with Rs 40,000 in cash which he was carrying.

Threatening to share the video to his contacts, the transgenders made the victim share his debit card PIN number and withdrew a total of Rs 2.9 lakh. Further they also transferred Rs 1 lakh from his UPI app to their account.

Later the transgenders returned his watch, ring, chain and debit cards, and fled. Shocked, the victim approached the police and filed a case regarding the incident before returning back to his hometown. A probe is underway to identify and nab the miscreants.