Noida: Gang extorts money from landlords after accusing them of rape, three held

A gang of three people, including a 19-year-old woman, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly extorting money from Delhi-NCR-based landlords after threatening them to frame them in rape cases, said police, adding the arrest came after they filed a rape case against a 46-year-old Greater Noida-based man, and police found the allegations suspicious.

The suspects have been identified as Badal Dedha, aka Kalu Singh, 38, a resident of Delhi; Prince, 22, (single name), a resident of Loni in Ghaziabad; and Jehra, 19, who hails from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, said police.

“On February 22, we received information on emergency helpline number 112 that a woman was raped by her landlord in Badalpur area. Upon getting information, a team rushed to the spot, and was told that she was raped inside her rented accommodation by her 46-year-old landlord, when she called him over to fix a sink leakage,” said Shakti Mohan Avasthy, deputy commissioner of police, Central Noida.

“When footage from CCTV cameras fitted close to the spot were scanned and statements of the complainant were recorded, investigating officers found the allegations suspicious,” the DCP said.

An officer, who part of the investigation, said on condition of anonymity, “When we asked the woman to call her relatives, she refused to involve them except two men whom she called “her brothers”. When previous crime records of both men were scanned, it was found that they were named in several cases registered against them in Delhi and Ghaziabad.”

Investigations revealed that the suspects also trapped a Ghaziabad-based landlord in November last year in a similar manner and extorted ₹5.5 lakh from him after threatening that they would frame him and his minor son in a rape case. They even filed an FIR against them, but after the settlement, the woman, along with his associates, withdrew the complaint.

Police said it is yet to be ascertained how many people had fallen into their trap. Investigators said they were running the extortion gang for the past two years after changing rented homes every eight to 10 days.

Explaining their modus operandi, the DCP said they used to live at a rented home for barely 10 days. The woman was tasked with calling the landlord home on some complaint or the other, and later two of her associates joined her to blackmail the landlord and extort money from him.

“Sometime victims agreed to their demand without protesting, while in some cases they (suspects) approached the police. But later they would pay the money and reach a compromise fearing imprisonment,” said Avasthy.

Police said in the Badalpur case, the landlord settled the case for ₹2.5 lakh and paid the gang ₹50,000 in advance. When the victim sought more time to pay the remaining amount, the gang dialled police on 112 to further threaten him.

“The woman came in contact with the prince around two years ago. To earn easy money, they hooked up with Prince and started searching for rented rooms in Delhi-NCR. We have recovered cash of ₹40,000 from their possession, and they were booked on charges of 308(7) (extortion by putting a person in fear) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Badalpur police station, and an investigation is underway to scan their previous records,” said Amresh Singh, Badarpur station house officer.

Badal was earlier identified as Kalu, but as several crime cases were registered against them in Delhi and police listed him as a habitual offender, he made a fake Aadhaar card giving his name as Badal, said police. At least 12 cases were registered against them in various police stations of Hapur, Gautam Budh Nagar, and Ashok Nagar, Delhi. He was also booked under the Gangster Act, police said.