A 32-year-old married woman from Andheri was allegedly blackmailed and threatened for extortion by her friend, identified as Rohit alias Ramprasad Narayan Pandey. The Khar Police have arrested Pandey after it was revealed that he had been demanding Rs 2 lakh from the woman by threatening to circulate her obscene videos on social media.
According to the police, the complainant resides in the Andheri area with her family. During her stay there, she became acquainted with Pandey, who worked nearby. Their friendship soon blossomed into a romantic relationship, and they stayed in touch regularly. A few months ago, Pandey had called her to meet him in Khar, where he took her to a hotel. It was at this hotel that both allegedly entered into a consensual physical relationship.
Over the next few months, the duo continued to meet, and on several occasions, they shared physical intimacy. During this time, Pandey secretly recorded obscene videos of their private moments on his mobile phone. However, the relationship took an ugly turn when Pandey began blackmailing the woman.
Threatening to leak the explicit videos on social media, he demanded Rs 2 lakh from the woman. Under constant pressure and harassment, the woman suffered severe mental stress and finally decided to approach the police. She lodged a formal complaint with the Khar Police, who registered an FIR under charges of sexual exploitation, criminal intimidation for extortion, and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
Acting on the complaint, police traced and detained Pandey from the Vile Parle area with the assistance of the Juhu Police. Later, he was handed over to Khar Police for further investigation. During interrogation, it was revealed that Pandey, a resident near Juhu Post Office, worked as a security guard. The police have seized his mobile phone, which will be sent to the forensic lab for examination.
The Bandra court has remanded the accused to police custody in connection with the case.