A 30-year-old man from Dhule came under the radar of police for allegedly blackmailing and sexually assaulting a 38-year-old woman from Kalyan in Maharashtra.
The man has been identified as one Syed Awez Syed Arif, who secretly recorded the video calls of the woman and extorted Rs 1.5 lakh from her after befriending her on Facebook.
According to police, the man befriended the woman on Facebook in 2022. During their interaction on the social site, he won her confidence and got her phone number. Later, the accused tried to convince her to engage in video calls, which she accepted. But, the accused secretly recorded the video calls.
The accused started putting pressure on her to meet him by threatening her to expose the recorded video calls to her husband and children. She met him at a hotel in Panvel where he sexually assaulted her.
He repeatedly assaulted her at the victim’s home and in Dhule. He also extorted Rs 1.5 lakh from her, but when she asked him to return, he refused.
Finally, the woman approached the police and lodged a case against him, including rape.