Absconding 'blackmail sex scam' accused held in MLA hostel

A 46-year-old man, wanted for allegedly blackmailing several persons, including politicians by pushing them into sex traps and making video recordings, has been arrested from the Kerala Legislators' Hostel.
Jayachandran had stayed in the MLA Hostel in the heart of the state capital in a room rented in the name of a former Congress MLA and had made his hideout for several days.
He was arrested last evening while trying to flee the police who went after him on getting information about his stay in the hostel.
Police went on a hot chase of the wanted after getting permission from Assembly Speaker G Karthikeyan, a release issued by the Speaker's office said today.

An accused in what came to be known in local parlance as "blackmail sex scam", Jayachandran was member of a Kochi-based gang that had allegedly taken videos of several persons, including politicians and high profile businessmen, after pushing them into sex trap.
The gang used the clippings to extort huge sums of money from them. While other members of the racket were arrested over a week ago, Jayachandran was absconding.

Taking a serious note of the incident, Speaker G Karthikeyan said he would be convening a meeting of party leaders to tighten the norms on renting out spare rooms in the MLA hostel for former MLAs.

Meanwhile, youth outfits of the CPI(M) and BJP took out a march to the MLAs' hostel demanding a high-level inquiry into the incident.
Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and CPI(M) stalwart V S Achuthandnan demanded a thorough inquiry and urged the authorities to ensure that the MLAs hostel was not turned into a haven for nefarious activities.