Four scribes booked for blackmailing spa manager in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: The Banjara Hills Police on Monday arrested four journalists for blackmailing and extorting a spa manager by threatening to falsely implicate her for running cross-gender massages and the flesh trade.

Rathod Pallavi, the manager of Healing Art Beauty Salon and Spa on Banjara Hills Road No. 1, said that the accused had been harassing her for two weeks. They allegedly manhandled the spa staff and forcibly took articles installed on the premises.

According to the police, Pallavi refused to give them money, following which the four threatened to telecast negative news about the centre.

Following their arrest, the police seized media accreditation cards from the accused, identified as Hameed Khan, Shaik Ishtiaque, Md Nisar Khan and Shoaib.

On a complaint from Pallavi, they were booked under sections of outraging modesty, trespassing, extortion, robbery and blackmailing of the IPC.