Maharashtra: Blackmailing and extortion gang busted; woman among three arrested

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Police on Friday said that three persons, including a woman, were arrested in Maharashtra's Palghar district for allegedly operating an interstate gang involved in blackmailing and extortion.

Valiv police station senior inspector Jairaj Ranavre said a woman who was living as the tenant of a builder in Vasai some two years ago accused him of impregnating her and threatened to file a rape case if he did not pay Rs 1 crore.

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The woman and her two associates allegedly took Rs 19.70 lakh from the builder over a period of time, the official said according to newswire PTI.

"Another accused then lured the builder into a real estate deal in Andheri East in Mumbai and took Rs 24 lakh from him. The accused then took Rs 17.80 lakh from him claiming his property in Vasai will be acquired for a railway corridor and they could get him Rs 25 crore as compensation," he said.

Based on the complaint of the victim, a case of cheating, extortion by threat of accusation and other offences was registered, leading to the arrest of Nafiz Hamid Sheikh (39), Manish Seth (48) and Sahiba Bakshi alias Neetu Pandey (29), the official said.

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Sheikh is from Bhiwandi, Seth from Surat in Gujarat and Pandey from Sriganganagar in Rajasthan, the official said.

Meanwhile, two persons were arrested in Virar in Palghar district of Maharashtra allegedly with 97 grams of mephedrone worth Rs 19.40 lakh, a police official said on Friday.

Acting on a tip off, two persons from Dharavi in Mumbai were held in Manvelpada on Thursday afternoon, Virar police station senior inspector Rajnedra Kamble said.

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He identified the two persons as Mohammad Ishaq Shaikh, aged 34) and Mohammad Moinuddin Shaikh, aged 25.

A case was registered under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and further probe into the peddling network was underway, he added. (With inputs from agencies)