In an unforeseen twist, Paytm secretary claims she was extorted
In what can only be called an unforeseen twist in the extortion case involving Paytm employees and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the mastermind of the extortion plot has claimed to be a victim of extortion herself. Sharma's personal secretary Sonia Dhawan, who allegedly hatched the plot, told police that she tried to extort Sharma as she was being extorted. Here are the details.
Backstory: Dhawan and accomplices tried extorting Sharma for Rs. 20cr
On October 23, police arrested Vijay Shekhar Sharma's personal secretary for over decade, Sonia Dhawan, her husband Rupak Jain, and senior Paytm employee Devendra Kumar for trying to extort the CEO for Rs. 20cr under the threat of leaking confidential information. One Rohit Chomal from Kolkata is also under investigation for having made the extortion calls. Up until now, the motive for extortion was widely believed to be personal gain.
An unknown person had demanded money, threatened to kill Dhawan
Now, Sonia Dhawan's lawyer has said that she herself had received a call from an unknown number, and the caller had demanded an as-yet-unknown sum of money. The caller had also allegedly threatened to kill Dhawan if she did not pay the ransom. Police have confirmed the statement, saying that Dhawan and her husband had filed a formal complaint on September 22.
Police are currently investigating the cases to find links
Speaking to India Today, Ajay Pal, SSP Noida, said that a link between the extortion plots had not been established yet. While extortion calls made to Sharma from Kolkata showed the caller being from Thailand, the extortion calls made to Dhawan were found to have been made from the Gautam Buddha Nagar district. Police are currently investigating both cases.
Many twists can be expected as investigations go on
Additionally, police also said that another Paytm employee was under suspicion. However, they did not reveal the employee's identity. This makes the unknown employee the fifth suspect in a case that appears to be much more complicated than it initially looked like. Notably, today's development opens up whole new possibilities, and the case might take interesting twists as investigations go on.
