In a plot line straight out of a B-grade Bollywood movie, the cousin of an upcoming actor was arrested last week for demanding Rs 1 crore to delete an intimate video clip of the actor and his girlfriend. It is the accused’s father who intervened in the matter and lodged a complaint to get his son arrested in the extortion case.
Taaha Shah — who faced the extortion threats — has featured in films like Gippi (2013), Luv Ka The End (2011). According to police sources, his cousin Joshua Matthews got his hands on a video clip Taaha had shot with his girlfriend, who also happens to be an actor. The clip had some private moments between the couple, and had it gone viral, it would have harmed their careers.
“Joshua, who is unemployed, hatched a plan and managed to transfer the video clip via bluetooth on his phone when Taaha was away. Once the copy of the clip came in his possession, Joshua started issuing threats to Taaha, and demanded that he cough up Rs 17 lakh. But, Taaha refused to budge, after which Matthews allegedly threatened to make the private clip public on social networking sites,” said a police source.
However, the plot twists did not end here. Joshua, who always envied his cousin, is learnt to have gone a step ahead and allegedly sent certain images of the clip to Taaha’s girlfriend, to try and coax her to convince Taaha to pay up.
When Taaha realised that the matter had worsened, he informed his mother and asked her to intervene and settle the issue with her nephew. But Joshua got furious and started demanding Rs 1 crore from the actor and his mother.
Dad turns complainant
“Joshua asked Taaha’s mother to sell their Versova apartment and pay the hefty amount or face dire consequences. It was then, that the actor’s mother informed her brother about his son’s nefarious activities. The father, in return, opted to teach Joshua a lesson and approached the police station,” said a police official.
After recording the statements of Taaha and his mother and Joshua’s father – who was the main complainant – the Versova police officials nabbed Joshua.
They have also seized and recovered all the video clips, images and private messages from him on March 21. Joshua has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.