Navghar Police have arrested a gang of fake cops including a woman for allegedly blackmailing a businessman and extorting money from him.
A woman first befriended and then invites them in seductive voice to the room in Shirdinagar in Bhayander East. On March 23, she invites a Pramod Rawal, a 57-year-old businessman from Palghar. The woman escorted her to the bedroom and forced him into a compromising position. Within a few minutes, the male members of the racket posed as cops entered inside the flat and threatened the businessman with arrest for operating a sex racket.
The trio demanded Rs. 5 lakh from Rawal to hush up the matter.
“However, they took Rs. 45,000 from him in cash and forced him to withdraw Rs. 25,000 from ATM kiosk. They threatened him to implicate in various cases since he was found in the company of the woman in a room. When they started pestering him to pay more money, he approached police,” the official added.
The complainant was allowed to go, but with threats that if he did not pay the remaining amount, he will be arrested in the prostitution case. On Friday, the complainant received a call from the fake cop who asked him to meet him in Kashimira.
On Sunday a trap was laid and the woman as well as her three associates were arrested while collecting money from the complainant in a Hotel Weston, the Navghar police official added.
Police laid a trap
Immediately, after receiving complaint, Milind Desai, Sr. PI, Navghar swung into action and laid a trap. The team first caught fake cops Vijay Tukaram Patil (56) and Ayub Rehman Khan (45) while accepting money. Investigations led to the arrest of the 35-year-old woman and another accomplice Sudarshan Khandare (32).
Ayub Khan, considered as a kingpin is a former police informer. Police suspects that the gang might be involved in similar kind of act, earlier also. Police have booked all the four under section 419, 420, 389, 384, 363, 347, 170, 120 (B), 506, 34 of IPC. Further investigations were underway.
