A 24-year-old MBA student from West Bengal has been arrested for allegedly extorting around Rs90 million from a man by threatening to implicate him in a false rape case and harm his family, Indian media reported.
Police identified the accused woman as Surya Dutta Das. The case came to light after the alleged victim, Ankit Agarwal, approached police on October 4 and filed a complaint detailing the alleged blackmail and extortion.
According to police, investigators arrested Das while she was allegedly attempting to collect more money from Agarwal. During the operation, officers recovered Rs500,000 in cash from her possession. Police also froze around Rs95 million reportedly held in her bank account as part of the investigation.
Agarwal, who works for a private company, told police that he first met Das around three years ago through an online application. Their initial contact involved online conversations, after which they exchanged phone numbers and eventually began meeting in person.
Agarwal alleged that Das started blackmailing him after their meetings and repeatedly demanded money. He claimed that she threatened to implicate him in a false rape case if he refused to meet her financial demands. She also allegedly threatened to cause harm to members of his family.
According to the complaint, Agarwal made several payments to Das over a period of time. He allegedly transferred money through bank transactions and also handed over cash, with the total amount reaching around Rs90 million.
Despite the payments, Agarwal claimed that the demands did not stop and that Das continued asking for additional money. He eventually contacted police and provided details of the alleged transactions and threats.
Following the complaint on October 4, police formed a team to investigate the allegations. Officers reportedly planned an operation after learning that Das was seeking another payment from Agarwal. The team detained her during the alleged collection attempt and subsequently took her into custody.
Police have begun examining the financial transactions and bank records linked to the case. Investigators are also looking into the circumstances surrounding the alleged threats and the large sums of money transferred to the accused.
The case remains under investigation, while police are gathering further evidence to determine the full extent of the alleged extortion.
