Marriage Fraud leads to Cyber Blackmail Arrest in West Singhbhum

Authorities in West Singhbhum have successfully apprehended a cybercriminal who used a fake marriage proposal to blackmail a young woman. The Jagannathpur police acted on a complaint detailing how Md. Shamsher Ali alias Md. Shamsher Alam (39), from Aurangabad, Bihar, deceived the victim into a relationship with promises of marriage, only to later demand money using intimate photos. Police reports indicate that the online romance began during the lockdown period, facilitated through social media platforms. The accused allegedly broke off the wedding plans in 2023, citing dowry demands, and subsequently married another woman with his brother Nisar Ali’s assistance. Despite the dissolution of the engagement, the offender persisted in contacting the victim. He then allegedly created explicit content and threatened its public dissemination, demanding ₹5 lakh from the victim and her family for its removal. This malicious act subjected the victim to severe psychological torment. A case was registered against Md. Shamsher Ali and Nisar Ali for offenses including cyber extortion and harassment. Following technical surveillance, a police team arrested the accused on December 8, 2025, in Aurangabad. Law enforcement confiscated a smartphone, which contained compromising images of the victim, along with other digital evidence.