‘Online friend’ calls woman to his hometown, rapes, robs her

“A few months ago, he threatened to kill himself if the woman did not come to meet him. He scared her into accepting his invitation to his hometown by brandishing a knife over his neck on video call,” said an official from Vakola police.

MUMBAI: An online friend called his female friend from the city to come visit his native town, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, where he robbed her of her personal belongings and raped her, according to her complaint to the police.

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According to the police, the 24-year-old woman had met the accused, Sameer Salim Sheikh, of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar over an app called Ola Party a few months ago. The two got close, exchanged their mobile numbers, and started to talk frequently.

“A few months ago, he threatened to kill himself if the woman did not come to meet him. He scared her into accepting his invitation to his hometown by brandishing a knife over his neck on video call,” said an official from Vakola police.

He added that the woman was told to come to a hotel in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, where the accused had booked a room for the two.

At the hotel, they recorded a video of them getting intimate. Sheikh had promised to marry the complainant, the police said. “However, once the deed was done, he started threatening to spread the video in his possession around. He then threatened her into handing over all the valuables and most of the money she had on her at the time,” said the officer.