Telugu students arrested in US for 'blackmailing' grocery store owner

VIJAYAWADA: An incident of alleged blackmail and extortion targeting a Telugu-owned grocery and restaurant shop in Dallas, USA, has emerged, causing concern in the local Indian-American community.
The group, said to be students from Telangana, was apprehended while using 'coercive tactics' to demand $100,000 from the owner of 'Desi Chowrastha', an Indian grocery store and restaurant, owned by a fellow Telugu. A video of the incident went viral on social media on New Year's eve.
The group accused the shop owner of discrepancies in the store's weighing scale and recorded videos to back their claims. They allegedly threatened to release the footage to a satellite channel or upload it online unless the owner complied with their demand. The shop owner, however, responded with remarkable presence of mind. He discussed the issue with his friends and they decided to collect evidence before informing the police. He asked the alleged blackmailers to meet him at a local restaurant. When the group arrived, the owner and his friends recorded the interaction live and released the evidence online, exposing the extortion attempt.
The incident has sparked outrage in the Indian community in the area besides causing embarrassment for the families of the accused students back in India. The students travelled to the US for education, but after completing their courses and failing to get good offers, may have succumbed to challenges in the job market.
The shop owner, who said he was forced to expose their misdeeds, expressed his sadness over the incident. "These students not only committed a serious crime but also ruined their careers and lives. Their actions have embarrassed their families and the larger Telugu community in the US," he said. Local authorities are investigating the matter, and further legal action may follow.