MUMBAI: The Mumbai police have arrested two members of a gang of five who allegedly threatened, blackmailed and extorted huge sums of money from a young woman, telling her that the ‘Narcotics Control Bureau’ (NCB) was probing her role in an alleged escort services racket, resulting in her death by suicide.
The Amboli police on Thursday arrested Shahapur-based businessman Suraj Mohan Pardeshi (38) and his accomplice, and are still looking for three more persons in the case. Cops have booked the gang of five or six persons under IPC sections for impersonation, abetment of suicide, extortion, extortion by threats, as well as section 120-B relating to criminal conspiracy.
On December 23, a 25-year-old woman Saniya (name changed) was found hanging in her flat in the western suburbs. The woman hails from a well-to-do family, which said there was no reason for her to end her life.
During investigations, Saniya’s friend approached the police and submitted a series of voice notes from her. In the voice notes, the deceased is heard saying the accused, Pardeshi, Aasir Kazi, Nofel Rohe and two unidentified persons were harassing and blackmailing her.
“She said that on December 20, she and her friend had gone to to party at a five-star hotel in the western suburbs when suddenly Pardeshi, who was known to them, called her and said they should leave the hotel immediately as the ‘NCB’ had busted an escort service racket in the hotel and she was under the scanner. Saniya and her friend returned home, but since then, the gang members had been calling on her mobile with threats,’’ said an officer.
In one of the voice notes, the deceased said that she had already paid Rs12 lakh to the gang, but they were blackmailing her further.
Saniya’s friend told the police that she was a happy-go-lucky person living a peaceful life until her visit to the hotel. The friend said that the deceased was shaken, and may have been driven to suicide due to mental torture by the gang. Cops said they have collected enough material to suggest the gang extorted money from the deceased and harassed her to the extent that she ended her life. The police said they are trying to find out how the accused came in contact with the deceased and whether they have similarly extorted money from other women.
