Thane: Woman, friend arrested for killing blackmailer

The building where Paranjpe was attacked in his rented apartment

The Kopri police have arrested a woman and her friend who assaulted a man who was blackmailing the former to have a physical relationship with him, threatening to make her obscene photographs viral on social media. Following the assault, the blackmailer was admitted to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

According to the police, the deceased - Swayam Satish Paranjpe, 33 - was dating the woman and had clicked nude pictures of her after spiking her drink. He used these pictures to blackmail her. The woman opened up to her friend about the incident who then tried to intervene and requested Paranjpe to delete the pictures. However, Paranjpe and the woman's friend had an argument, after which he hit Paranjpe in the head with an object, leading to his death. The Kopri police are investigating the matter.

Swayam Satish Paranjpe, the deceased

The police said Paranjpe met the woman in a marriage ceremony on April 28. The woman is a resident of Koliwada in Thane West, while Paranjpe was a resident of Sanchar Society in Kopri. They became friends and started dating. During one of their meetings, the Paranjpe offered the woman a drink while in his car and claimed that he was taking her on a long drive. He then took the woman to his house.

"He spiked her drink, took her to his house and clicked nude pictures of her when she was unconscious. After the incident, he frequently started harassing the woman to meet him, threatening to make her nudes viral if she didn't comply. The woman got tensed and informed her friend Mayuresh Nandakumar Dhumal, 24, a resident of Jambli Naka in Thane, about the incident," said an officer from Kopri police station. Sources alleged that Dhumal is the son of a retired cop.

On Friday morning, the woman and Dhumal went to meet Paranjpe at his rented apartment. "They requested him to delete the pictures but he was not ready to listen and instead started threatening them. This resulted in an argument between Dhumal and Paranjpe. Dhumal repeatedly hit Paranjpe with a sharp object (koyta) on his head and injured him. Paranjpe was taken to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries," said an officer, adding that Paranjpe was struck around 30 times.

The Kopri police have registered a murder case against the woman and her friend Dhumal. The duo has been detained. "A case has been registered for murder under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and investigations are going on. The accused will be produced in court today," said an officer.