Four people have been arrested for allegedly trying to extort money from actress Shamna Kasim.
According to the complaint Shamna’s family registered with Maradu police station in Kochi, the four men got in touch with the family by posing as a marriage party.
The four approached Shamna and her family with a marriage proposal, showing her the photograph of a TikTok model from Kasaragod as the ‘groom’. They later demanded Rs 1 lakh from her and threatened to ruin her career by sharing photos and videos of her.
“One person in the gang got the actor’s number initially and spoke to her by posing as a wealthy Kozhikode based jewellery owner with business in Dubai. He introduced himself with a fake name - Anwar Ali. The duo got close and even spoke on the phone a few times,” an officer from the Maradu PS told The News Minute.
The accused also deceived the actress’s family by making them speak to people posing as the prospective groom’s ‘family members’.
Later, six people, claiming to be family members of Anwar, visited Shamna’s house in Kochi. The family sensed something fishy and upon checking the CCTV visuals, they discovered that the six men had shot videos of the exterior of the house and Shamna’s car on their smartphones.
When Shamna questioned Anwar about this, he threatened her and attempted to extort money. This is when the family registered a complaint with the police in Kochi.
Shamna Kasim, also known by her stage name Poorna, predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil film industries.
As the photos of the four accused were released, more models have lodged complaints with the police. Investigation is on and police believe that the four maybe part of a larger gang that targets celebrities and extorts money.
