SURAT: Two men were arrested from an area under the limits of Katargam police station on Sunday for blackmailing and extorting several lakhs of rupees from a 71-year-old man. The accused threatened the septuagenarian of making his photos with a woman go viral on social media and extorted Rs7.50 lakh from him and got trapped when demanding more money.
Police arrested Hitesh alias Manglu alias Bhago Dambhla Bharwad and Ashok Godhil, both residents of Botad, from Katargam. Police team members waited for the duo dressed as roadside vendors. The accused were booked under various sections of
Indian Penal Code for
extortion, insult to provoke breach of peace and criminal intimidation among others.
The complaint was lodged by Jivraj Kalathiya, a retired
bank manager from Botad, who was tired of extortion calls despite having paid Rs7.50 lakh to the accused. Kalathiya received a call on July 21 in which the accused threatened him to make his photos with a woman go viral. Fearing social stigma, Kalathiya paid Rs2.80 lakh to the accused on Bambhan Road in Botad. He again received an extortion call and was taken to Sathwara ni Chawl on Bambhan Road where the accused took his photos with a woman to blackmail him.
The accused demanded Rs5 lakh and also threatened to kill his family members. The victim paid Rs4.70 lakh to them in several transactions but they wanted more.
Meanwhile, the complainant informed his sons, who live in the city. Kalathiya arrived to stay with his sons following extortion threats and later approached police. As per police instructions, he asked the accused to come to the city to receive Rs2 lakh more. “Police kept a watch around the spot and nabbed the accused when they came to accept the money. Dambhla Bharwad was arrested in the past for extortion in Botad,” said a police officer at Katargam police station.