Extortion bid: Hindu Mahasabha leader held

The Surathkal police here have arrested Hindu Mahasabha’s Karnataka state president Rajesh Pavithran on the charges of threatening to leak the private information of a businessman on social media if his demand for gold and cash was not met.

Suresh, a resident of Kovoor, in his complaint to the police said he and Pavithran had decided to do a business at Surathkal on partnership basis. Later, after coming to know more about Pavithran’s dubious business deals, he opted out.

Enraged by this, Pavithran secretly took away Suresh’s laptop and threatened to make public his private information in the computer if he did not yield to the demand for gold and cash. The accused also threatened to cut off his limbs, the complaint said.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered and the accused was arrested, police sources said.