Two men were arrested on Thursday after a Kutch businessman alleged that the two and 12 others attempted to extort Rs 20 lakh from him, police said.
One of the two arrested men runs a YouTube channel by the name of KP News, which the two used as a tool to threaten the businessman, Haji Juma Rayma, the latter alleged in his police complaint. Based on the complaint, an FIR was filed at the Gandhidham A Division police station on April 8 against Ibrahim Halepotra and Mohammad Hanif Haji Sumarsha Shaikh, who were booked for extortion, criminal conspiracy, defamation, and hurting religious sentiments as well as under section 67A of the Information Technology Act.
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The police statement read that Halepotra and Shaikh threatened to make videos defaming the complainant.
Citing the complainant, the police said in November 2025, when a religious leader visited Gandhidham, he had given a “welcome” advertisement in several newspapers. At the religious leader’s programme on November 11 in Halepotra, who runs the YouTube channel, approached him and asked him to pay Rs 20,000 to cover the event, they added.
As Rayma refused to pay the amount, he was allegedly approached again on November 13 and 14, when he was told the non-payment of Rs 20,000 “would cost him Rs 20 lakh”.
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Last February, Halepotra allegedly put out a video on YouTube accusing Rayma of assaulting a woman. The woman, later, shared a video clarifying that nothing of that sort had transpired, as per the FIR.
However, on March 2, the woman was said to have been interviewed by the YouTube channel wherein she claimed that Rayma had cheated her of Rs 20 lakh. Also, there were other videos with objectionable content.
One of the two arrested men runs a YouTube channel by the name of KP News, the police said. (File photo) 
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