33-year-old woman arrested for trying to extort ₹30 lakh from live-in partner

Sayyed Anwar Issamuddin Hussain and Sandhya Gajanan Adate met in September 2023, and since December 2023, they have been living together in Navghar, Bhayander East, he told the police

MUMBAI: The Navghar Police have arrested a 33-year-old woman for allegedly trying to extort ₹30 lakh from her live-in partner by threatening to file a gang rape case against him and his friends.

HT Image

The police registered a case based on the complaint lodged by Sayyed Anwar Issamuddin Hussain, 36, a resident of Naya Nagar on Mira Road. In his statement to the police, Hussain claimed that his live-in partner, Sandhya Gajanan Adate, has been harassing him for money since January 2024 and is accusing him of ‘love jihad.’

‘Love jihad’ is a conspiracy theory that Muslim men are luring Hindu women in a bid to convert them to Islam and ultimately gain demographic domination.

Hussain and Adate met in September 2023, and since December 2023, they have been living together in Navghar, Bhayander East, he told the police. Hussain further claims that while Adate was married to a man named Akshay Solanki, and their court case is still ongoing, both got married in a mosque in the presence of a maulana (priest).

Hussain, fearing arrest, wrote an application to the police after which they registered an FIR against Adate under sections 420 (cheating), 384 (threats, intimidation, or blackmail to obtain money, property, or information from another person), 389 (Putting a person in fear of accusation of an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for 10 Years in order to commit extortion), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

When contacted, Adate’s lawyer, Advocate Edgar Briganza, said, “It’s a matter between the couple. They wanted to separate and had some financial dispute.” Briganza further said that Adate wanted a divorce, but Hussain was not ready and used to harass her, after which she wrote an application to the police, which did not convert into an FIR. “Hussain’s allegations are completely baseless,” added Briganza.

The police said they arrested Adate but are still verifying Hussain’s claims. “We are recording statements of witnesses and people whom Adate had sent to Hussain to threaten him,” said a police officer from Navghar police station. The officer said they would also contact Adate’s previous husband and find out more about the accused.