The court granted regular bail based on the filing of the charge-sheet, the period of detention, and the lack of need for further interrogation, despite the seriousness of the cyber-extortion charges and a prior criminal record.

Order on Board

1. This is the first bail application filed under Section 483 of the BNSS for grant of regular bail to the applicant who has been arrested in connection with Crime No. 243/2023 registered at Police Station Magarlod, District - Dhamtari (C.G.), for the offence punishable under Section 384, 509(b), 201 of Indian Penal Code and Section 67(A) of I.T. Act

2. The prosecution case, in brief, is that the complainant lodged an FIR before the concerned police station with the intent that the applicant namely Tameshwar Kumar Sahu, with mala fide intention, established contact with the victim through video calling. During such interaction, the accused/applicant clandestinely recorded the video call by way of screen recording without the knowledge and consent of the victim. Thereafter, the accused/applicant started blackmailing the victim by threatening to make the recorded video viral on social media platforms, thereby extorting money from her. It is further alleged that upon the victim’s refusal to meet the unlawful demand, the accused/applicant created a fake Instagram ID in the name of the victim and uploaded obscene photographs and videos with the intention to defame her and outrage her modesty. The said acts of the accused/applicant resulted in severe mental harassment, humiliation and reputational damage to the victim. During the course of investigation, the statement of the complainant/victim was duly recorded and the place of occurrence was inspected. The victim produced relevant digital evidence, including screenshots obtained from Instagram and obscene content, which were seized and preserved in a pen drive in accordance with law. Further, a detailed technical report in respect of the fake Instagram ID was obtained from the District Cyber Cell, Dhamtari, which prima facie substantiates the involvement of the accused/applicant. It is also pertinent to mention that upon coming to know about the registration of the FIR, the accused, with the intention to cause disappearance of evidence, deliberately disposed of his mobile phone (Oppo Model A54) along with the SIM card by throwing the same into a canal drain near Kurud, thereby attracting the offence under Section 201 of IPC. Thus, the material collected during the course of investigation clearly establishes the active involvement of the accused/applicant in committing the alleged offences, reflecting his criminal intent and deliberate acts of extortion, cyber exploitation, and destruction of evidence. Accordingly, Crime No. 243/2023 has been registered at Police Station Magarlod, District Dhamtari (C.G.) for the offences punishable under Sections 384, 509(B), and 201 of the Indian Penal Code along with Section 67(A) of the Information Technology Act and the applicant/accused was taken into custody on 30.12.2025.

3. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent and has not committed any offence and has been falsely implicated in the present case. It is further contended that on 15.04.2023, the father of the applicant had already lodged a missing information report before the concerned police station regarding the loss of the applicant’s mobile phone and SIM card and as per the mobile location details available on record, the said mobile phone was traced to locations in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh Circle, which is duly reflected in Annexure A/3 forming part of the charge sheet. It is also submitted that the applicant has been in judicial custody since 30.12.2025. She further submits that the applicant is a labourer by profession and a permanent resident of Distri