TV actor Varshini Venkat arrested in Chennai for extortion

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A 28-year-old woman TV actor was arrested for allegedly assaulting and threatening a man, along with her associates, and extorting ₹5.5 lakh from him in Guindy, Chennai .

The complainant, Tarun (26), stays at a hostel in Guindy and is engaged in stock trading. He told the police that his friend Varshini Venkat, the TV actor, had asked him to invest money in a short film she was making with her friends. When he refused, she, along with her associates, allegedly assaulted and threatened him.

According to the complaint, when Tarun returned to his hostel after stepping out early on Tuesday, Varshini, Sanjay, and two others allegedly picked a quarrel with him, assaulted him and demanded money. He initially gave them ₹50,000. Later, Sanjay allegedly contacted him over the phone and threatened him, following which Tarun transferred ₹3 lakh to Varshini’s bank account and ₹2 lakh to Sanjay’s.

He told the police that even after he had paid ₹5.5 lakh in total, Sanjay had been demanding another ₹27 lakh from him.

Based on Tarun’s complaint, the Guindy police registered a case and launched an investigation. A police team examined the complainant’s bank transactions and confirmed that money had been transferred to Varshini’s account.

They arrested Varshini of Dr. Ranga Road in Mylapore and seized an iPhone from her. She was produced before a court after interrogation and remanded to judicial custody. Efforts are under way to trace the other accused.

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