Lawyer arrested; two women booked for extortion on student

A lawyer and two women have been arrested in Mumbai for allegedly blackmailing and assaulting a 17-year-old boy and forcing him to transfer money from his bank account. The incident occurred when the boy was found sitting with a 15-year-old girl in a park. The accused threatened to call the police and demanded money to let the two go. The police intervened and registered a case against the trio. The arrested lawyer has been sent to police custody.

MUMBAI: Police in Bhoiwada have arrested a lawyer and booked two women for allegedly blackmailing and threatening a 17-year-old boy after they found him sitting with a 15-year-old girl in a park in the Parel area in Dadar East on Monday. Police said the accused threatened to call the police after discovering the duo. They also assaulted the young boy and allegedly forced him to transfer ₹1,500 from his bank account to their bank account.

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According to Bhoiwada police, the 17-year-old boy studied in a college in Parel. “Though his college lectures end at 5pm, on Monday he did not return home even by 7 pm. His brother then got a call from his number, asking him to come to the Aryabhatt Garden, Parel claiming that he was caught by a lawyer with a female friend and the lawyer was threatening to report him to the cops,” said the police.

When his 20-year-old brother reached the spot in Parel, he saw the accused beating his brother in front of his female friend. The accused claimed to be lawyers and told the brother that they had called the police, and a van was on its way.

“The trio then demanded ₹15,000 each to let the two go. When the 17-year-old student told them that he didn’t have money, they reduced their demand to ₹8,000 each. The student said again that none of them had money as they were students. The lawyer then forced him to transfer ₹1500 via UPI to his bank account and asked him to transfer the balance amount on Tuesday,” said an officer from Bhoiwada police station.

Meanwhile, police officers on patrol duty who were passing through the area noticed a commotion and stopped to inquire what was happening. When they heard the whole story, the policemen took all of them to the police station and registered a case against the trio based on the complaint of the student.

The arrested lawyer was identified as Akash Adhav, 26, a resident of Sewri. His companions who were booked included Sakshi Adhav, 23, also a lawyer; and Shivai Wairkar, 21, a Parel resident. All the accused were charged under sections 384 (extortion), 34 (common intention), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

“Akash Adhav has been sent to police custody till Wednesday and the other two have been given notices under section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code for appearance before the investigating officer,” said a police officer.