A 32-year-old man from Bhiwandi was arrested on Wednesday for extorting money from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Vasant More’s son, said police.
The accused has been identified as Abdul Khalid Abdul Rauf Sayyad (32), a resident of Dandekarwadi in Bhiwandi, Mumbai.
Police said that the suspect approached a marriage agency and spoke with a woman there. The accused asserts that he threatened Vasant More’s son Rupesh by calling and texting him at the woman’s request.
As per the police, last month Rupesh received a message from an unknown number on a messaging application (app) saying that they have a certificate of his marriage with one Alifiya Sheikh and that they will make the marriage certificate viral on social media. Initially, the More family ignored the threats but the suspect kept on messaging and even called Rupesh, demanding Rs20 lakh to close the matter. The family then approached the Bharati Vidyapeeth police following which the accused stopped calling. However, from February 27, the accused resumed calling and messaging Rupesh, demanding a ransom of Rs30 lakh this time and even threatening to kill him. The unknown accused asked Rupesh to keep Rs30 lakh in a car parked next to the Kharadi Yuvan IT Park failing which a rape case would be filed against him by Alifiya.
Vijay Puranik, police inspector (crime), said, “As per the complaint we have arrested the accused. Others might be involved in the case and so we are investigating further.”
{{/usCountry}}Vijay Puranik, police inspector (crime), said, “As per the complaint we have arrested the accused. Others might be involved in the case and so we are investigating further.”
{{/usCountry}}A case has been registered at the Bharati Vidyapeeth police station under section 387 (putting a person in fear of death or of grievous hurt in order to commit extortion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 66 (c) of the Information Technology Act.