Trinamul’s Dinhata MLA Udayan Guha in Cooch Behar district has complained to the police of having fallen prey to a racket that involves morphed and obscene videos of people.

“A few days back, I received a video call from a woman. After some days, she sent an obscene video to me with my face morphed. Since then, I have been receiving messages asking me for money with threats of political ruin if I do not meet their demand. I have told the police and hope they crack the case,” said Guha, who also chairs the West Bengal Forest Development Corporation.

Recently, Cooch Behar police had alerted people not to take video calls from unknown numbers. “Those involved in the racket instantly use the video clip of the call to morph the person’s face into videos for money or threaten exposure on social media,” said a police officer.

Guha told the media that people should not take video calls from unknown numbers.

The MLA added that he was not ready to pay money and would take legal steps instead. “Though it appears to be a plan to extort money, I am not ruling out political rivalry,” he said.
The police officer said they had consulted cyber experts on the case.

Vendor shot at

A bullet hit Altaf Ali, a vegetable vendor of Okrabari under Dinhata-I block of Cooch Behar, on his right hand when he chanced to come between two warring Trinamul groups late on Friday evening.

Sources said the groups were attacking each other with firearms, bricks, stones and sticks over the formation of the party’s panchayat-level committee.

Angry traders on Saturday closed the local market and blocked Dinhata-Gitaldaha road for four hours.