The city crime branch arrested four persons for allegedly duping a Santacruz-based hotelier to the tune of Rs10 lakh.
The city crime branch arrested four persons for allegedly duping a Santacruz-based hotelier to the tune of Rs10 lakh. They had tried to squeeze him for more money, threatening to circulate his “blue film” in public.
The arrested have been identified as Abdul Rashid Ansari alias Chinu, Mohammed Wajid Anwar Pasha, Aslam Habib Shaikh and Hassan Ali Bismillah Khan alias Babu.
The complainant (name withheld) first came in contact with Babu in March last year, said police. Having befriended him, Babu started frequenting his hotel in Santacruz.
“After getting pally with the victim, Babu told him that he knew several female models and invited him to come to his house for sexual pleasure. Initially the victim refused to join Babu, but later accepted the invitation after being forced constantly,” said a crime branch official, requesting anonymity.
Babu took the hotelier to a building near Milan Subway, where a woman was waiting in a room. The victim allegedly had sex with her and left the place after sometime, police said.
In April last year, Babu again visited the victim’s hotel and told him that he was bringing a ‘model’, who worked in serials, to his place. He again invited the victim to “have fun” with the woman. He took him to a chawl in Behram Baug, Jogeshwari, where the victim “had sex” with the girl.
Towards the end of April last year, Babu called the victim and told him that his sexual escapades had been made into a CD. A boy came to victim’s hotel and took him to Juhu beach on the instructions of Babu. There, he was met by two people, who identified themselves as Sohail and Riyaz. “They had brought a laptop with them and showed the victim the CD. They demanded Rs50 lakh to bury the issue, failing which they threatened to circulate the damning CD in newspapers, cable and to put up posters outside his hotel to malign his image,” said the officer.
A deal was negotiated for Rs10 lakh. The victim met his blackmailers near Sagar Hotel at Nagpada and delivered the money. In return he got the CD and destroyed it, said police.
For quite some time, everything went alright for the victim. But in January, threatening calls from the blackmailers resumed. In February, two people, who identified themselves as Yousuf and Salim, came to victim’s hotel and told him that a copy of the pornographic CD was still with them.
They demanded Rs25 lakh for it. Initially the victim was defiant, but on being constantly harassed, he struck a deal at Rs5 lakh.
But this time, the victim approached unit 9 of the crime branch at Bandra and lodged his complaint. Last Wednesday, he called the blackmailers to VM Road, Pushpa Park in Juhu. When they came to receive the money, they found the cops lying in wait.
The four have been remanded in police custody till May 7. “The other
three arrested people used fake names every time they met the victim,” said the officer.
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