A 36-year-old married man from Bhayandar in Thane district of Maharashtra was forced to pay the ransom of over Rs 6 lakh after he was held captive by a woman, who had befriended him through a 'dating' app, and her associates, police said on Monday.
An FIR was registered at the Shree Nagar police station on charges of extortion, robbery and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) after the victim approached the police this morning, but no arrest is made so.
An officer said the victim, who manufactures and sells furniture, had come in contact with a woman last July through a 'dating service' app- 'Quack Quack'.
The woman invited him to Thane city and when he arrived at the scheduled location in the Shree Nagar area, she took him to her house, the officer said quoting the FIR.
"The man was held captive in her house by the woman and other accused-one of them a woman- who thrashed him and demanded Rs 10 lakh for releasing him. They threatened the victim to defame him if he fails to pay up. They snatched credit cards of the victim and his wife and withdrew Rs 6,32,100 before allowing him to go," the officer said, adding that further investigation is underway.
