The Kharadi police in Pune have arrested five individuals, including three men and two women, for allegedly extorting money from a massage parlour owner by threatening to falsely implicate her in a prostitution case. The arrests were made on Friday from Yerawada, following a complaint lodged by the victim on Thursday.
Incident Details
The incident took place on Wednesday night at a massage parlour operating from a commercial building in Kharadi. The complainant, a 36-year-old woman originally from Sikkim, had been running the parlour in the area for the past six months. According to an officer from the Kharadi Police, the accused entered the premises under the guise of customers.
Sequence of Events
On Wednesday night, one man entered the parlour posing as a customer and began inquiring about different therapies. Soon after, two more men and two women entered the premises and accused the complainant of operating a sex racket under the cover of a massage parlour. The complainant denied any involvement in illegal activities, but the accused allegedly threatened to take her to the police station.
The officer stated, “The accused initially demanded Rs 3 lakh and later agreed to accept Rs 2 lakh to avoid inconvenience to the complainant.” The woman did not have sufficient funds in her account, so her daughter transferred Rs 50,000 to her. She also contacted two friends for assistance. When her friends arrived, one of the accused women slapped the complainant repeatedly for calling others to the scene.
Settlement and Payment
One of the complainant’s friends later persuaded the accused to settle for Rs 1.5 lakh. The woman then transferred Rs 30,000 through UPI to one of the accused, who allegedly asked her to pay the remaining amount over the next two days before leaving the premises.
Police Action
The terrified woman approached the police on Thursday, leading to the registration of a case under sections 308 (extortion), 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The police have arrested the five accused and are conducting further investigations. “Investigations are on,” the officer said.
