Woman Duped Of Rs 1.11 lakh Over Sextortion Threat In Maharashtra's Thane

A person has allegedly extorted Rs 1.11 lakh from a 23-year-old woman in Maharashtra's Thane district after blackmailing her with her objectionable video, police said on Monday.

A case has been registered in this connection against the unidentified person, they said.

The woman, while browsing Instagram reels on July 8, came across a post titled 'UK Marriage Bureau' and clicked on a link given with it, which promised to help users make friends.

"The link opened in a WhatsApp chat with a contact named Rahul UK (UK Boy)," an official from Kashimira police station said.

The victim then messaged on the number, initiating a conversation with a man that quickly developed into a friendship.

During their online interactions, both of them exchanged personal information.

The man later asked the woman strip on a video call and recorded it without her knowledge. "Within a minute of her stripping, the video call switched off," the official said.

Subsequently, the man informed the woman that he was coming to Mumbai and would meet her.

However, on July 11, he called her claiming he had landed in Mumbai but was "caught by airport authorities and needed to be saved," the official said.

The man then demanded money from her.

When the victim expressed her inability to transfer funds, he sent her the video he had recorded when she stripped, the official said.

Following this, the man began to blackmail the woman, threatening to share the video online if she did not transfer the money, the police said.

The victim transferred Rs 1,11,000 into different accounts on more than 30 occasions through digital payment methods, the official said.

"After the money was transferred, she tried to contact him, but the man was no longer reachable," he said.

The woman later blocked his number and after discussions with her family members, filed a complaint with the Kashimira police.

The police registered a First Information Report (FIR) on July 18 against the fraudster under sections 318(4) (cheating) and 308 (extortion) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the official said, adding a probe was on into the case. 

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