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CHENNAI: Investigators with the police cybercrime wing have launched a search for a 40-year-old woman who blackmailed several men - a doctor, a businessman, a software engineer and the marketing head of a private firm.

Manjula Venugopal, of Salai Street in Mylapore , befriended her victims on social networking sites, set up rendezvous and took photographs of herself with the men. She would use the pictures to threaten and extortmoney from them, an investigating officer said.

Manjula, who is married and has a daughter, faces charges in the jurisdictions of three city police stations and is now on the run.

Chennai police commissioner A K Viswanathan directed officers of the cybercrime wing to probe the case.

" Satishkumar , a businessman from Mylapore, said he met Manjula on a social media website," the officer said. "She soon started sending him messages online."

Manjula set up a meeting with Satishkumar and they took 'selfies' together. Shelater posted the photographs online with lewd messages and extorted cash from the businessman, threatening to tell his family that they were in a relationship, the officer said.

Manjula cheated at least three other men the same way. Police have registered a case under sections 66D ( cheating by personation by using computer resources) and section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

