Sextortion in Hyderabad: What to Do and the Law
Sextortion is blackmail using intimate images or video. A person is recorded, for example during a video call with a stranger, and then threatened that the recording will be sent to family, friends or colleagues unless they pay. This guide explains how the scheme usually works, what to do first in Hyderabad, how to get the content taken down, and which laws apply.
How it works · What to do first · Getting content removed · The law · Filing a police complaint · Privacy in the case · If the victim is under 18
How sextortion usually works
The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau describes the pattern: scammers use fake profiles with attractive pictures, suggest a video call, persuade the victim to undress or undress themselves, and record the call secretly. They then threaten to share the video with the victim’s friends and family unless money is paid. The Bureau notes that victims often end up paying, and that the demands continue until the victim refuses to pay any more.
The Telangana Police Women Safety Wing has warned about the same “fake nude video call” trick (2022), and the Ministry of Home Affairs listed sextortion among the major cybercrime methods reported in India in 2023.
Separately, the Ministry of Home Affairs has warned of intimidation, blackmail and extortion by criminals posing as police, CBI, RBI and other agencies (alert of 14 May 2024). A Ministry of Home Affairs press release of 27 October 2024 reports the Prime Minister reminding citizens that no government agency conducts investigations via phone or video calls. See our guide on the digital arrest scam for that pattern.
What to do first
- Keep the evidence. Take screenshots of the profile, the chat, the threats, the usernames, the links and any payment requests or UPI IDs, with dates. Keep the chat and the phone numbers rather than deleting them; they may be needed as evidence and for a takedown request.
- Report it. Call the national helpline 1930 or report on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, cybercrime.gov.in. The Ministry of Electronics and IT’s procedure for non-consensual intimate images lists both channels, along with local police.
- Contact Telangana police directly if you prefer. The Hyderabad City Cyber Crimes Police Station lists “Sextortion/Honey Trap” among the crimes it handles and gives a 24/7 WhatsApp and phone number, 87126 66346. The Telangana Police Women Safety Wing runs a Cyber Module for cybercrimes against women and children, including sextortion, with helpline 040 27852246. The Cyber Crimes Police Station is part of the Hyderabad City Police; its page asks victims of cyber fraud with losses under Rs 1 lakh to contact the local police station.
- Ask the platform to remove the content if it has been posted (see the next section). This can run alongside the police complaint.
- If money was paid, report the transaction on 1930. It is also advisable to inform your bank in writing as soon as possible and keep the transaction reference.
Getting intimate content removed
Under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, as amended in February 2026:
- Two-hour removal: on a complaint by the person concerned, or by anyone on their behalf, about content that exposes their private area, shows them in full or partial nudity or in a sexual act, or impersonates them, including artificially morphed images, the platform must take all reasonable and practicable measures to remove or disable access to it within two hours (rule 3(2)(b)). Platforms must provide a way to receive such complaints (rule 3(2)(c)).
- Grievance officer: a complaint to the platform’s grievance officer must be acknowledged within 24 hours and resolved within seven days. A request to remove content that is, among other things, obscene, invasive of bodily privacy or impersonating another person is to be resolved within 36 hours (rule 3(2)(a)(i) and its first proviso).
- Appeal: if the grievance officer does not resolve the complaint within the time allowed, or you disagree with the decision, you can appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee within 30 days of receiving the grievance officer’s communication (rule 3A(3)); the Committee works online (rule 3A(6)). The Ministry’s procedure gives the address as gac.gov.in.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT’s standard operating procedure on non-consensual intimate imagery (October 2025) adds that significant social media intermediaries are to use hash-matching technology to take down copies of the same content, with hashes shared with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) through its Sahyog portal, and that search engines are to de-index it. It also lists One Stop Centres run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, which help a woman file on the portal and, if she asks, may connect her with counselling, police and legal aid.
The law that applies
Which offences apply depends on the facts, such as whether money was paid, whether images were actually shared, and the victim’s gender and age. The main provisions, with what the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) First Schedule says about each:
| Provision | What it covers | Maximum punishment | Police power |
|---|---|---|---|
| BNS s.308(2), extortion | putting a person in fear of injury, which includes harm to reputation (s.2(14)), and thereby inducing them to deliver money or property | 7 years, or fine, or both | cognizable, non-bailable |
| BNS s.308(3) | putting or attempting to put a person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion, even if nothing is paid | 2 years, or fine, or both | cognizable, bailable |
| BNS s.351, criminal intimidation | threatening injury to a person’s reputation, among other things, to cause alarm or make them act | 2 years, or fine, or both (more in the cases in s.351(3) and (4)) | non-cognizable, bailable |
| BNS s.77, voyeurism | capturing or sharing an image of a woman in a private act; consent to recording is not consent to sharing | 3 years and fine (first conviction); 7 years and fine (subsequent) | first conviction: cognizable, bailable; subsequent: cognizable, non-bailable |
| BNS s.78, stalking | a man monitoring a woman’s use of the internet, email or other electronic communication | 3 years and fine (first conviction) | first conviction: cognizable, bailable; subsequent: cognizable, non-bailable |
| BNS s.319, cheating by personation | pretending to be another person, real or imaginary | 5 years, or fine, or both | cognizable, bailable |
| BNS s.204 | pretending to hold a public office and acting under it | 3 years and fine | cognizable, non-bailable |
| IT Act s.66E | capturing, publishing or transmitting an image of the private area of any person without consent, in circumstances violating privacy | 3 years, or fine up to Rs 2 lakh, or both | cognizable, bailable (IT Act s.77B) |
| IT Act s.67 and s.67A | publishing or transmitting obscene, or sexually explicit, material in electronic form | s.67: 3 years and fine up to Rs 5 lakh (first conviction); s.67A: 5 years and fine up to Rs 10 lakh (first conviction) | s.67 (first conviction): cognizable, bailable (IT Act s.77B); s.67A: not stated in s.77B |
| IT Act s.66D | cheating by personation using a communication device or computer resource | 3 years and fine up to Rs 1 lakh | cognizable, bailable (IT Act s.77B) |
Under section 77B of the IT Act, offences punishable with three years or more are cognizable, and offences punishable with three years are bailable. Under the second proviso to section 77A, a court cannot compound an IT Act offence committed against a woman or a child below 18. The BNS illustrations to section 308 include a threat to publish a defamatory libel unless money is paid, and a threat sent through an electronic device demanding money.
Filing a police complaint
- Any police station (zero FIR): information about a cognizable offence can be given at a police station irrespective of where the offence was committed, orally or by electronic communication (BNSS section 173(1)).
- Online information: information given electronically is taken on record once the informant signs it within three days (section 173(1)(ii)).
- Woman officer: where a woman gives information about voyeurism, stalking or insulting her modesty (BNS sections 77 to 79, among others), it is to be recorded by a woman police officer or any woman officer (first proviso to section 173(1)).
- Free copy: the informant or victim is to be given a copy of the FIR free of cost (section 173(2)).
- Preliminary enquiry: for cognizable offences punishable with three years or more but less than seven years, the officer in charge may, with a Deputy Superintendent of Police’s permission, hold a preliminary enquiry within 14 days to ascertain whether there is a prima facie case for proceeding (section 173(3)).
- If the police refuse: send the substance of the information in writing and by post to the Superintendent of Police concerned (section 173(4)). If that does not result in action, an application supported by an affidavit can be made to a Magistrate, who may order an investigation after such inquiry as the Magistrate thinks necessary (sections 173(4) and 175(3)).
Criminal intimidation under BNS section 351 is non-cognizable. Where criminal intimidation is the only offence, the police station for the area where it happened enters the information in a register and refers the informant to the Magistrate, and cannot investigate without a Magistrate’s order (BNSS section 174(1) and (2)). Where a case involves two or more offences and at least one is cognizable, such as extortion under BNS section 308, the whole case is deemed cognizable (section 174(4)).
Privacy in the case
Many victims worry about being identified. The legal position is limited:
- The ban on publishing a victim’s identity in BNS section 72 covers only rape and related offences (sections 64 to 71). It does not cover extortion, voyeurism or the IT Act offences. Where the victim is under 18, other rules may apply.
- Mandatory in-camera trial under BNSS section 366(2) also applies only to rape and certain POCSO offences. In any case, though, the Judge or Magistrate may order that the public or any particular person not have access to the court room (proviso to section 366(1)).
If the victim is under 18
Section 67B of the IT Act separately punishes publishing, transmitting, creating, collecting, browsing or downloading sexually explicit material involving children (under 18), and enticing or inducing children into an online relationship for a sexually explicit act: up to 5 years and fine up to Rs 10 lakh on first conviction. The national portal’s own FAQ (as seen on 22 October 2026) describes a separate option, “Report Crime related to Women/Child”, for child sexual abuse material. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 may also apply; take advice on its reporting duties.
Related guides: cyber crime, cyber laws in India, digital arrest scam and bank account frozen in a cyber complaint.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do first if someone is blackmailing me with a video?
Keep screenshots of the profile, chat, threats, usernames, links and any payment requests, and report on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in, or to the Hyderabad City Cyber Crimes Police Station (WhatsApp and phone 87126 66346, 24/7), which asks victims of cyber fraud with losses under Rs 1 lakh to go to the local police station. If the content has been posted, complain to the platform at the same time.
Will paying the blackmailer make it stop?
The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau, describing the scheme, says that victims often end up paying, and that this continues until the victim refuses to give any more money. If you have already paid, report the transaction on 1930.
How quickly must a platform remove an intimate video of me?
Under rule 3(2)(b) of the IT Rules, 2021, as amended in February 2026, on a complaint by you or someone on your behalf, the platform must take all reasonable and practicable measures to remove or disable access within two hours.
Is sextortion a crime if I have not paid anything?
Yes. Putting a person in fear of injury, including harm to reputation, in order to commit extortion is punishable under BNS section 308(3) even if nothing is paid, and capturing or sharing private images without consent can be an offence under IT Act section 66E.
Do these laws protect men too?
Yes, in part. Extortion, criminal intimidation and the IT Act offences in sections 66E, 67 and 67A do not depend on the victim’s gender. BNS sections 77 to 79 (voyeurism, stalking and insulting modesty) protect women.
Can I file the complaint at any police station?
Yes. Under BNSS section 173(1), information about a cognizable offence can be given at any police station irrespective of where the offence was committed, and can also be given electronically and signed within three days.
Will my name be kept secret?
The ban on naming victims in BNS section 72 covers only rape and related offences, not sextortion of an adult. Different rules may apply where the victim is under 18; take advice. A court may, however, order that the public not have access to the court room.
For a discussion about a sextortion matter with Musab Hashmi & Associates, call +91 89771 24916 or send an enquiry. Do not send the images or videos, identity numbers or copies of documents in the first message.
General legal information, not legal advice. Checked on 25 October 2026 against the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and its First Schedule, the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 in the Ministry of Electronics and IT’s consolidated text (updated as on 10 February 2026, with the corrigenda of 26 February 2026), the Ministry’s standard operating procedure on non-consensual intimate imagery (October 2025), Ministry of Home Affairs releases, and the official pages of the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau, the Hyderabad City Cyber Crimes Police Station and the Telangana Police Women Safety Wing.