Bhubaneswar: Police arrested a 52-year-old man for allegedly extorting Rs 2.5 lakh from a Bargarh businessman on Tuesday.

Ananta Moharana had allegedly demanded Rs 10 lakh from the victim and threatened to circulate intimate videos of him with a woman.

The police said Moharana, who is married, was having an affair with a married woman and were staying at a rented accommodation in Khandagiri. "The accused introduced the victim to the woman and they became close. The accused planted a CCTV camera inside a room in the rented accommodation and captured their intimate moments," said a police officer.

Moharana later used the footage and demanded Rs 10 lakh from the victim. He threatened to make the videos viral on social media if he refused to pay him. "The victim paid Rs 2.5 lakh in four phases between February and July. However, Moharana continued to demand more money. Finally, the victim lodged a police complaint and we arrested the accused today (Tuesday)," said deputy commissioner of police Anup Kumar Sahoo.

The police said they were also going through the CCTV footage and mobile of the accused to trace the videos. "We are investigating to find out if the woman was involved in the entire episode," said the cop.

Circulation of intimate videos of women on social media has become a menace in Odisha despite director-general of police R.P. Sharma issuing an advisory along with a standard operating procedure for the police to take up investigations in such cases in January.

Statistics suggest 73 cases related to circulation of obscene photographs and videos were registered in Odisha in 2016. The number went up to 184 in 2017, while 31 cases were registered by March this year.