The Delhi Police have arrested three persons for allegedly duping a man of Rs 5.80 lakh through a sextortion scam in Ganga Vihar, an official said on Sunday.

The case was registered at the Cyber Police Station of the northeast district after a Delhi resident alleged that he was cheated through online intimidation. According to the complaint, the victim received a video call on May 6 from a woman impersonating one of his social media friends and during the call, an obscene video was allegedly recorded without his knowledge.

The police said the victim was subsequently contacted by persons posing as police officers, social media officials and government authorities, who threatened to circulate the video online and implicate him in criminal cases unless he paid money.

"Fearing arrest and public humiliation, the complainant transferred around Rs 5.80 lakh in multiple instalments through different bank accounts, UPI IDs and QR codes," said the police.

After investigation, police traced part of the defrauded amount to mule bank accounts and arrested Rajesh (18), Kunal (22) and Imran (23) on Saturday, all residents of Faridabad. The police recovered a mobile phone allegedly used in the crime from Imran. During questioning, the accused allegedly revealed the involvement of a sextortion syndicate operating from Rajasthan's Mewat region. The police said further investigation was underway.