Rowdy-sheeter, preschool teacher among three arrested for blackmailing Bengaluru businessman

Bengaluru: A rowdy-sheeter and a preschool teacher were among three people arrested for blackmail and extortion of a city businessman, police officials said on Tuesday.

The arrested people are Sridevi Rudagi, 25, who operated a preschool in Mahalakshmi Layout; Ganesh Kale, 38; and Sagar More, 28. All three are from Vijayapura and knew each other.

"Sagar More, a notorious rowdy-sheeter from Vijayapura, has a total of nine cases against him,” a crime branch officer told DH.

The complainant, a businessman and trader from Mahalakshmi Layout, told the Central Crime Branch (CCB) that the trio extorted Rs 1.90 lakh from him after threatening to leak his intimate videos and further demanded Rs 20 lakh. The case was registered on March 28.

The complainant's youngest daughter, aged five, was admitted to Sridevi's preschool in 2023.

After they became acquainted, Sridevi asked him for Rs 2 lakh in December 2023 for school-related work, promising to return it by March 2024, according to the FIR. She later claimed financial difficulties and said the borrowed amount would be adjusted against the school fees.

In November 2024, Sridevi borrowed another Rs 2 lakh for her father's medical treatment. The victim gave her the money from his trading business collection, the FIR noted.

The FIR also stated that the two began going out for coffee, and the complainant bought a new mobile phone to stay in touch with her.

In January 2025, when the complainant asked for the money back, Sridevi allegedly told him she was in a tough situation and offered him a partnership in her school.

She also suggested being in a relationship with him and sought another Rs 15 lakh, which he declined. She later visited him at his house and took Rs 50,000, the FIR noted.

After suffering business losses, the complainant decided to move to Gujarat and met Sridevi at the school on March 12 to collect his daughter's transfer certificate.

At that point, Ganesh threatened him, stating that Sridevi was engaged to Sagar. The complainant told the police that the three demanded Rs 20 lakh from him and threatened to leak his private videos and chats with Sridevi.

Sridevi Rudagi

Ganesh Kale