18 July,2016 08:27 AM IST | | Vijay Kumar Yadav
The victim was called to a five-star hotel in South Mumbai by the accused and molested; he later threatened her to withdraw a case she had filed against actor Koena Mitra
The Marine Drive police have arrested an MBA graduate for extorting valuables worth Rs 1.45 lakh from a model in a SoBo five-star, while pretending to be a policeman from the Social Service Branch and also claiming to be a friend of actress Koena Mitra.
According to the police, the accused, Sudip Biswas, later threatened the model that he would bump her off if she did not withdraw an earlier complaint against Mitra.
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Representational pic
Cops are in the process of verifying his claims of being associated with the actress but haven't found a direct link so far. mid-day tried contacting Mitra but she was unavailable for comment.
Senior Police Inspector Popat Yadav confirmed the arrest and said that Biswas has been remanded in police custody till July 20.
Koena Mitra. Pic/Santa Banta
In her complaint to the police, the model has stated that on April 19 she received a phone call from one Ravindra Kumar, who invited her to a Sobo hotel to audition for a modelling assignment.
When the victim reached the hotel, a man posing as the manager invited her to meet his boss in a room. "When she went to the room, she found no one there. The man then said that he was a policeman from the Social Service Branch (SSB). He started questioning her and forced her to admit that she was a call girl," said an officer.
âCop' molests
"The âpoliceman' later molested and told her that he had video-recorded the incident. He then snatched her bracelet, gold chain, iPhone, driving licence, PAN card, and RC book of her vehicle. He then asked her to give him R50,000 the next day," said an officer.
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When the accused did not respond to her calls, the victim approached the Marine Drive police station on April 22 and narrated the entire ordeal.
The cops went to the hotel and recovered CCTV footage that helped them identify the accused.
Threats continue
On April 28, the victim received a phone call from the conman. The accused claimed he is a friend of Koena Mitra and threatened to upload the recording from the hotel room online if she didn't withdraw her case against Mitra.
The victim then approached the Marine Drive police station in May and registered a case. After analysing the phone calls of the accused, they traced his location and arrested him on Saturday.
"Biswas has been booked under sections 170, 354, 384, 385 of the IPC. He is not cooperating. We are yet to verify his claims pertaining to his association with the actress," said Sub-Inspector Sudarshan Patil of the Marine Drive police station.
