Mumbai: Women fabricate molestation case, seeks Rs 10-crore ransom; arrested

Representative news

Mumbai police have arrested two women for allegedly demanding a ransom of Rs 10 crore in a staged molestation case.

According to a report by NDTV, the women were identified as Hemlata Aditya Patkar, alias Hemlata Bane, 39, and Amrina Iqbal Zaveri, alias Alice alias Amrina Matthew Fernandes, 33. They were arrested by Mumbai Police's Anti-Extortion Cell while accepting a bribe.

Following a complaint by a businessman, the Mumbai police had laid a trap to arrest the duo.

The complainant, Arvind Goyal, is a businessman from Goregaon West who runs a firm named Goyal & Sons Infra LLP. His son, Ritam, got engaged to Yashvi Shah on November 5, and a celebration party was organised at a hotel in the Amboli area on the night of November 14.

At around 2:40 am on November 15, after the party ended, Ritam, his fiancée Yashvi, her brother and a friend were in the elevator when an unknown woman entered. She accused Ritam of pointing a laser light at her, which triggered a verbal altercation that soon escalated.

When the lift reached the ground floor, the woman allegedly raised an alarm and created a commotion. A molestation case was subsequently registered against Ritam at the Amboli police station.

The two women later allegedly demanded ₹10 crore to settle the matter out of court. On December 20, Hemlata Patkar allegedly called Arvind Goyal and asked him to meet her at a café in Andheri West, where she threatened that if the payment was not made, his son would be jailed for life, bringing disgrace to the family.

After multiple discussions, the suspects reportedly brought down the settlement demand to ₹5.5 crore.

Working with the businessman, the Mumbai Police Anti-Extortion Cell set up a trap. The accused were called to the Lower Parel area to collect ₹1.5 crore in cash — part of which included dummy currency. The two women were caught red-handed while accepting the money, and an FIR was registered.

Police said a third accused, identified as Utkarsh, is also involved in the extortion racket and is currently absconding. A search operation has been launched to trace him, and further investigation is underway.