Maharashtra: Thane man falls prey to 'sextortion', loses Rs 6.5 lakh

A 39yearold man from Maharashtras Thane city working as a corporate consultant has allegedly lost Rs 650 lakh after being lured by a woman on a video call police told news agency PTI on WednesdayAs per the victims complaint he received a WhatsApp video call from a number on March 17 2023 where a woman spoke to him In the midst of the call she suddenly undressed herself following which the man immediately disconnected the call an official from Kasarwadavali police station told PTIAfter some time the man received a video of the woman and some screen shots wherein he was seen conversing with her He then immediately deleted the contentsThe next day the man received a call from an unknown number wherein the caller posed as the police commissioner of Delhi the official said quoting the complaint reported PTIAccording to PTI the caller informed the man that a woman was running a sex racket and the police while making efforts to arrest her came across the mans video which was about to be uploaded on social mediaThe caller asked the man to contact a person referred by him if he wanted to stop the video from being uploaded on social media the official saidWhen the man called that person he allegedly demanded Rs 50000 from him The man made the payment out of the fear of being defamed the official saidLater different persons called the man between March 18 and 25 and allegedly extorted a total of Rs 650 lakh from him he saidThe man filed a police complaint on Tuesday based on which an FIR was registered against 10 named persons and five other unidentified persons under Indian Penal Code Sections 420 cheating 406 criminal breach of trust 34 acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention and provisions of the Information Technology Act the official saidNo arrest has been made so far the police said adding that a probe was on into the caseMeanwhile police have registered a case against two persons including a juvenile for allegedly threatening a ration shopkeeper and attempting to extort money from him in Maharashtrarsquos Thane districtOn May 11 the two accused went to a fair price shop in Ulhasnagar township and allegedly demanded 10 kilograms of rice from the shopkeeper reported PTIWhen the shopkeeper expressed his inability to supply the rice as he did not have any stock the accused allegedly brandished a knife and warned him of dire consequences if he did not provide the same as well as lsquohaftarsquo protection money for running the shop a police official from Ulhasnagar police station told PTISome people from the neighbourhood rushed to rescue the victim following which the accused got annoyed and warned them also of dire consequences as per the FIR based on the shopkeeperrsquos complaintThe police registered a case against the accused on Sunday under Indian Penal Code Section 385 putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion and 506 2 criminal intimidation and 34 common intention the official saidThe accused have not been apprehended so far he said adding that a probe was on into the caseWith inputs from PTI