Mother-daughter duo arrested for extorting ₹50 lakh over false rape case

Gurugram: Police have arrested a mother-daughter duo for allegedly trying to extort ₹50 lakh from a Gurugram-based businessman after “getting him booked in a false rape case”, said officials on Tuesday

Gurugram: Police have arrested a mother-daughter duo for allegedly trying to extort ₹50 lakh from a Gurugram-based businessman after “getting him booked in a false rape case”, said officials on Tuesday.

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The duo demanded the money in lieu of turning hostile in the case or withdrawing it, said police, adding that the woman (42), a widow, was arrested red-handed when she was allegedly taking ₹1.08 lakh from the man’s brother inside a restaurant in Gurugram Sector 49 on Sunday. Following this, a case was registered against the arrested woman and her daughter under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 384 (extortion) at the Women Police Station in Sector 51 on Sunday, said police.

According to investigators, the woman confessed to the crime during interrogation and her 19-year-old daughter — who filed a rape complainant against the 50-year-old businessman on May 17 — was also arrested from their Bhiwani house on Monday. In the FIR, the daughter had alleged that “she was raped in DLF Phase 3 on May 16”. The daughter alleged in the FIR that “the businessman appointed her as his personal secretary on May 10, and instructed her to accompany him everywhere”. According to her allegations, the businessman took her to DLF Phase 3 on May 16 on the pretext of a meeting and raped her.

The daughter, however, could not produce any appointment letter for the same, said police.

Following this, the mother demanded ₹50 lakh from the businessman, but later made a deal with the latter’s brother to settle the matter for ₹30 lakh, said investigators. The businessman’s brother promised to pay the duo the money in instalments, they added.

During an investigation in the rape case, the businessman’s brother approached police with evidences such as call recordings, where the mother could be heard asking for ₹50 lakh from them to settle the matter, said assistant commissioner of police (crime against women) Surinder Kaur. She also said that the mother had already taken ₹1 lakh from the businessman’s brother in Bhiwani on June 17, and the woman was arrested in Gurugram on Sunday when she was taking the second instalment from the victim’s brother.

Inspector Suman Kumari, station house officer (SHO) of Women Police Station, said “this was not the first time that the mother-daughter duo extorted money by getting a man booked in false rape case”. “The woman has two daughters. The younger daughter is 17 years old... Earlier, both the daughters filed at least two rape cases against several people in Bhiwani, and the mother allegedly extorted money from them,” Kumari said.

Based on a rape complaint filed by the younger daughter, a case was registered against the suspect under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, according to Kumari. A further investigation is underway, and we will soon find out the number of men duped by the duo, and the money they have extorted from them, said police.