Mumbai: The Charkop police have arrested a man for extorting Rs 52 lakh from a woman running a tours and travel firm on the false premise of a police case related to drugs found in her car. Sohail Khan was wanted in the case for the past 10 months. His wife Mehzabin and friend Zaheer are co-accused in the case and are on the run.
The complainant, Panna Mistry, is a resident of the Charkop area in Kandivali. In May 2019, she gave one of her cars for repairs to Khan, who worked as her driver. She also gave him Rs 40,000 for repairs. Meanwhile, she moved to Gurugram where her husband had been transferred. A few weeks later, she received a call from Khan saying that the garage owner had kept drugs in her car and a police case had been registered even though he tried to dump the consignment.
Khan told Mistry that she could get arrested in the case and he had contacts to “manage” RTO officers, police and judges for which he needed money.
Victim Sent More Money When Accused's Wife Demanded It
Out of fear, Mistry kept sending money to Khan. A few days later, Khan’s wife called her and said that he had been arrested and was brutally beaten up in custody. She demanded more money, saying that Khan had been admitted to Sanjeevani Hospital. In the coming weeks, money was extracted on the pretext of leg surgery for Khan.
After a few days, Mehzabin told Mistry that she has filed a case in the ministry against the beating up of her husband by the police and will get Rs 34 lakh if she wins the case. For this, Mehzabin said she had to pay Rs 20 lakh to the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Bandra. The extortion continued until December 2021, when Mistry realised she had been cheated, following which she lodged a case with the Charkop police. The police had been on a lookout for Khan, his wife and friend for ten months. Khan is being questioned about the case and the whereabouts of his accomplices. A special operation has been launched to nab the other two.
