Sultanpur,

10 Dec (HS): Four employees at the Haliyapur toll plaza on the Purvanchal

Expressway here have been fired and charged for allegedly sharing an intimate

video of a newlywed couple on social media and exploiting it to extort money,

police said Wednesday.

The

case was opened at Haliyapur police station after Sub-Inspector Raffan Khan

filed a complaint, according to authorities.

According

to reports, the suspects have been charged with spreading the video virally and

blackmailing the newlywed couple for unlawful monetary gain. Employees

reportedly utilized cameras set on the road to record recordings and

subsequently extorted victims.The

Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has

immediately suspended traffic manager Shashank Shekhar, system technician

Ashutosh Tiwari, system engineer Pramod Kumar, and another employee from duty.

They

are suspected of spreading the video and blackmailing the couple, according to

UPEIDA Project Manager Abhishek Chauhan. According to reports, IG (Ayodhya

Range) Praveen Kumar, Sultanpur SP Kunwar Anupam Singh, and top UPEIDA

officials arrived late Tuesday night, assessed the situation, and directed

subordinate authorities to take stringent action. Police raided Shashank

Shekhar's leased home in Haliyapur on Tuesday night, but he was not located,

according to reports.

Ashutosh

Kumar, Circle Officer (Baldirai), stated that police took notice of a video

related to the toll plaza and followed higher authorities' instructions. He

stated that three terminated workers are in jail for interrogation, and that

attempts are underway to apprehend the fourth employee, whose identity has not

been released by the police. He stated that no accused will be spared.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi