Vidushi Nautiyal, Pune
A 31-year-old businesswoman was arrested in Hyderabad on Thursday for stalking and kidnapping a television anchor in a bid to marry him.
According to the police, Bhogireddy Trisha, the managing director of five startup firms and owner of a digital marketing business, abducted Pranav Sistla after she fell for a scam involving an unidentified person using Pranav’s picture on a matrimonial website, deceiving her out of Rs 40 lakh. She was subsequently taken into custody along with five others after the 27-year-old anchor went to the cops with a kidnapping complaint.
Two years ago, she came across a profile that had used Pranav’s photos on the matrimonial website, Bharat Matrimony. Before ultimately realising it was a fake account, she conversed with the impostor, who went by the name Chaitanya Reddy. As per the police, they began interacting on WhatsApp and Instagram, and at one point, the man asked her for an investment in his firm, promising her high profits. She allegedly paid the individual Rs 40 lakh through UPI; however, the woman said that the person stopped talking to her as soon as he received the money.
After figuring out she was being duped, the woman called the number listed on that profile. It turned out to be Mr. Pranav Sistla, who worked as a music channel anchor. He informed her that some stranger, later identified as Chaitanya Reddy, was using his photos to create fake accounts on Bharat Matrimony, and that he had filed a complaint with the cyber cell for the same. When she still continued to message him after, Mr. Sistla blocked her number.
But the woman was adamant on getting married to the anchor. According to the police, she “appeared to be an intimacy-seeking stalker” and planned to abduct Mr. Sistla to “sort out things.”
With the promise of Rs 50,000, she recruited another employee working in her office to carry out the job for her. According to the authorities, they even put an Apple AirTag on the victim’s vehicle in order to stalk and monitor him. On February 11, the man recruited four more people to abduct Ms. Sistla.
They subjected him to physical assault and took him to the woman’s office. The police reported that she released him only after he promised to answer her calls. Following his release, he went directly to the Uppal police station and lodged a complaint, which resulted in the woman and the five kidnappers being taken into custody and a case being registered against her under 363, 341, 342, and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.