Mumbai: Four persons have been arrested for allegedly extorting money from a senior citizen over a purported intimate video with his caretaker. The man alerted the Khar police about the extortion bid, invited the accused home on the pretext of paying them money and got them arrested.
The victim, 63, had sought a caretaker for medication, bathing and massage. He got the number of Janseva Kalyan from Just Dial. On December 29, at 6pm, a helper named Nitu Bhardwaj was sent to The victim’s residence. Following an interview, The victim discovered that the woman was unlettered and lacked knowledge about medications. However, The victim hired her on compassionate grounds as she expressed a dire need for a job.
Later that night, the victim took sleeping pills around 11.30pm and went to bed. He remembered the woman massaging his legs but had no recollection of their conversation. The next morning, suspicious of her motives, he terminated her employment. A few hours later, she called the victim, claiming to possess a compromising recording and demanded Rs40,000. She threatened to publicise the recording and lodge a police complaint. When The victim declined, she reduced the demand to Rs30,000, making 15 phone calls in the process.
Subsequently, her manager Anil Chauhan contacted the victim, demanding Rs1 lakh to resolve the matter. On January 1, both the woman and her manager demanded Rs50,000, which was renewed on January 4.
The victim informed the police and invited the accused home to collect the money. As planned, Chauhan arrived with two accomplices, Kiran Nair from Diva and Rajesh Kewat from Mumbra, who were arrested.
Subsequently, the victim filed a case against Bhardwaj, Chauhan, Nair and Kewat under sections 34 (pertaining to common intention) and 385 (pertaining to instilling fear to commit extortion) of the Indian Penal Code at the Khar police station on January 5. Bhardwaj was arrested from Uttar Pradesh.
