Woman, Lawyer Arrested in Mumbai for Demanding Rs 4 Crore to Drop Rape Case

The Mumbai Police crime branch's anti-extortion cell arrested a 31-year-old woman and her Delhi-based advocate in the wee hours of Saturday for allegedly extorting money to withdraw a rape complaint filed against an Ahmedabad-based businessman.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Nivedita Apul Sharma, 31, and her advocate Sahityaraj Mishra, 27. Both were booked under charges of extortion, blackmailing, criminal conspiracy, and criminal intimidation. Following their arrest, they were produced before the Holiday Court, which remanded them to police custody for two days.

According to the police, Sharma had previously lodged a first information report alleging rape, leading to the arrest of the businessman from Ahmedabad. Following the arrest, she and her lawyer allegedly contacted the businessman's family and demanded Rs 4 crore to withdraw the complaint.

The matter came to light after the businessman's 32-year-old brother-in-law, a real estate agent based in Gujarat, approached the Mumbai Police. The complainant reported that the woman was issuing threats and demanding a massive sum to drop the charges. Police stated that after initially demanding Rs 4 crore, the accused subsequently agreed to settle the matter for Rs 2.5 crore.

Investigators noted that the extortion demands were communicated through phone calls. Several of these conversations were recorded by the complainant's brother-in-law and handed over to law enforcement as evidence.

Acting on the complaint, the anti-extortion cell laid a trap near a hotel in Mumbai. Police caught both Sharma and Mishra red-handed while they were in the process of accepting an instalment of Rs 45 lakh from the complainant.