Couple arrested in Delhi for running extortion racket

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NEW DELHI: A 25-year-old man and his girlfriend were arrested here for allegedly clicking objectionable photos of their massage clients and blackmailing and extorting money from them, the police said on Friday.

The arrest comes after one of the victims of the couple approached the police on Wednesday claiming that the accused-- Shadab Gowhar and his accomplices had blackmailed and extorted Rs 3 lakh from him, they said.

According to police, the victim had come in contact with Gowhar earlier this month while searching for massage service providers on the internet.

The accused had introduced himself as Armaan Sharma and on September 8 asked the victim to come to a hotel room in Vaishali. He charged Rs 12,000 for the massage, police said.

Days later, Gowhar again asked the complainant to meet him for another massage session in the same hotel room, they said. 

Around 20 minutes into the massage, there was a knock at the door and Gowhar opened it. Two of his female accomplices, Anukriti and Renu (names changed) entered the room and immediately took away the victim's clothes, wallet and mobile phone, they said.

As Gowhar began assaulting and abusing the victim, one of the women threatened to tear her clothes and implicate the victim in a fake rape case, police said.

The trio then demanded Rs 10 lakh from the victim who agreed to give them Rs three lakh in cash which was kept in his car, they said.

The complainant was further forced to sign four cheques amounting to Rs 4.5 lakh and was allowed to leave with a warning to arrange the remaining amount soon or his nude photos and videos would be shared with his family, they added.

However, the complainant got the payment of the cheques stopped and filed a police complaint, police said.

Police managed to arrest Gowhar and his girlfriend Anukriti from a mall in Saket where they had come to collect Rs two lakh from the victim, they said.

"Shadab (Gowhar) revealed that he came to Delhi along with the girlfriend. On August 23, he made a profile on a website and on September 4, came in contact with the complainant," said Ram Gopal Naik, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Crime.

"They met on September 8 after the accused successfully gained the confidence of the complainant," he added.

The duo formed a gang roped in other members including women. They used the same modus operandi to extort money from other victims as well, police said.