Three, including advocate, booked in Gurugram for extortion of senior citizen

According to police, the victim’s family, however, maintained that the case was fabricated and supported their claim with call recordings

The Gurugram Police have arrested three people, including an advocate, on charges of cheating and extorting a 67-year-old senior citizenin Palam Vihar on Saturday, said police.

Police said the suspects were identified as Asha Verma, 47, from Delhi; Kanchan Kumari, 24, from Rohtak; and Kuldeep Singh, 40, from Bhiwani. (Representational image)

Police said the suspects were identified as Asha Verma, 47, from Delhi; Kanchan Kumari, 24, from Rohtak; and Kuldeep Singh, 40, from Bhiwani.

According to the FIR registered at Palam Vihar police station on August 28, advocate Kuldeep Malik, along with Asha and Kanchan, allegedly befriended the victim by initiating contact through missed calls and conversations.

Sandeep Kumar, Gurugram police spokesperson said, “The incident took place in a paying guest (PG) accommodation in Sector 22 owned by the victim. Asha befriended the victim and later took her friendKanchan to the PGon June 4. Later, one of them had sexual relations with him and soon after, he began receiving extortion calls demanding money, with threats of being implicated in a rape case if he refused to comply. Later on June 18, the suspects registered a rape case against the victim,” said Kumar.

According to police, the victim’s family, however, maintained that the case was fabricated and supported their claim with call recordings and written complaints submitted to the police. In a detailed letter to the Haryana State Women Commission, the family narrated how the accused attempted to extort money, initially demanding ₹10 lakh and later negotiating a settlement of ₹6.5 lakh. They further alleged that the group is part of a larger network operating across multiple districts in Haryana, said police officers.

Acting on the family’s complaint and supporting evidence, the police registered a case under sections 308(2) extortion through fear of injury, 308(6) aggravated extortion by putting a person in fear of a serious criminal accusation to extract property, and 61 (criminal conspiracy ) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, said Kumar.

Commenting on the incident, Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj, men’s rights activist and director of Ekam Nyaay Foundation, said, “Most people give in to these extortions because of shame. In this case, however, the family decided to fight and complain, and we extended our full support. We filed a complaint with Renu Bhatia, chairperson of the Haryana State Women Commission. She took cognisance of the case and ensured action.”

Police confirmed that further investigations are underway to uncover the extent of the racket and identify other potential victims. Authorities have assured that strict action will be taken to dismantle the network and prevent senior citizens from falling prey to such organised extortion schemes.