According to a police officer on Friday, three people—including a woman—were taken into custody in Palghar, Maharashtra, for reportedly running an interstate gang that engaged in extortion and blackmail.
Senior Inspector Jairaj Ranavre of the Valiv police station stated that approximately two years prior, a lady who was a tenant of a builder in Vasai accused him of having an affair with her and threatened to file a rape case if he did not pay Rs 1 crore.
He claimed that over time, the woman and her two colleagues allegedly stole Rs 19.70 lakh from the builder.
“Thereafter, a different accused conned the builder into a Mumbai real estate transaction in Andheri East and stole Rs 24 lakh from him. Then the accused took away Rs 17.80 lakh from him, saying they could get him Rs 25 crore in compensation if his land in Vasai was acquired for a railway corridor.
A case of cheating, extortion by threat of accusation, and other offences was filed based on the victim’s allegation, the official said, and Nafiz Hamid Sheikh (39), Manish Seth (48), and Sahiba Bakshi alias Neetu Pandey (29) were taken into custody.
Sheikh is from Bhiwandi, Seth from Surat in Gujarat and Pandey from Sriganganagar in Rajasthan, the official said.
(Source: PTI)
