Mumbai: Three Booked for Extorting Rs 45 Lakhs from Woman by Making Obscene Video on Pretext of Modelling

A case has emerged where an accused, who contacted the victim on social media claiming to be a representative of the famous Dharma Productions company, extorted Rs 45 lakhs from her. The serious matter is that the accused also raped her and threatened to make a video viral. Bhandup police have registered a case against three people and are searching for the accused.

The complainant, a computer engineering student living with her family, received a message on Instagram about golden opportunities in modelling. When she checked, a user ID named 'Hardik' claimed to be a representative of Dharma Productions and said he had good relations with Netflix and other OTT platforms. The accused told the complainant that he had given opportunities to many new artists who are now earning lakhs of rupees.

When she inquired about the process, he gave her the mobile number of a person named Rahul Chavan. She contacted Rahul, who said that upon payment of Rs 20,000, all plans would be disclosed. She informed her father and sent Rs 20,000 to the accused Rahul. He then called her to a shop in Bandra, where he took an additional Rs 20,000 from her for creating a portfolio.

The accused told the victim that there was a modelling opportunity with a foreign company, and she would earn Rs 10 lakhs. The young woman said she did not have this amount and her parents would not provide it. Rahul then asked her to bring jewellery from home without informing her family. The young woman gave him her household jewellery. Additionally, the accused demanded more money, and when she refused, Rahul said she would not get modelling work if she did not pay. Consequently, the girl gave all the gold from her house to the accused.

The accused sexually assaulted the victim multiple times and took her pictures and videos. Using those photos, Hardik also threatened to make her nude pictures viral. Afterward, Rahul's acquaintance Shreyas also started sending her obscene messages. The accused defrauded the victim of a total of Rs 45 lakhs. Rahul threatened to make the photos viral on social media, which frightened the victim.

Due to the continuous demands for money by the accused, the complainant eventually told her mother about the matter. Following this, a complaint was lodged with the Bhandup police. The police have registered a case against Rahul Chavan, Hardik, and Shreyas Patil under charges of extortion, fraud, threats, defamation, rape, and offences under the Information Technology Act.