Belagavi: A new kind of crime has got parents of Belagavi district in a tizzy. Some students are blackmailing small kids to steal for them.Recently, Belagavi police busted a case in which high-school students of upper class families blackmailed a class 8 student of prestigious school of Belagavi. These boys struck up a friendship with him. After a few days, they gave him a small tortoise to keep it in his bag and told him something good would happen to him if he did it. Later, one boy stole the tortoise from the bag and asked the student to return the tortoise. When the boy said it had been stolen, they senior boys started demanding money and valuables. When the boy said he couldn’t do it, they threatened to kill him.Fearing for his life, the victim stole Rs 5 lakh in cash, three gold rings and cellphones, all worth Rs 6 lakh from his house at different times and gave them to the blackmailers. Desperate for more money, the blackmailers took the boy to an unknown place and threatened to kill him if he didn’t bring more money. The victim’s parent’s found him shouting in his sleep about the harrasment he was going through. When parents asked him about what was troubling him, he told them the truth.The parents immediately lodged a complaint at Tilakwadi police station and cops detained the blackmailers. They were produced in court and sent to a remand home.According to sources, a few such incidents have happened in Belagavi city but parents have not lodged complaints.Police commissioner DC Rajappa said only one case has been reported in Belagavi. “We regularly create awareness among students and parents about the dangers of drugs. We counsel students to have regular interaction with their parents and share their problems with them.”

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