4 including two women held for blackmailing, extortion

RAJKOT: Rajkot city police arrested four persons including two women for blackmailing, extorting money and robbing 22-year-old Chirag Maniyar. The accused had allegedly tricked Chirag and photographed him in a compromising position and later blackmailed him for extorting money.
Those arrested include, Vishal Makwana, a resident of Shivajinagar, his sister Sejal; Sapna Gamot, Sejal's friend; and Vishal's cousin Hitesh Koli, who is also a traffic warden in Rajkot city.The accused were held following a complaint by Maniyar, whose family owns an imitation jewellery unit. "It was a pre-planned conspiracy to extort money from Chirag. Primary probe suggests that Vishal was in debt and was need of money. So, he used these tactics to blackmail him," said M R Muchhal, investigating officer, B-Division police station.
According to police, Vishal's brother Vijay works at Chirag's unit and knew that Chirag needed skilled workers. Based on Vijay's infromation, Vishal had called up Chirag on November 21 and told him about some skilled workers in Maliyasan village.
"However, when Chirag and Vishal reached the village, one of the girls Sapna hugged Chirag and Hitesh started clicking pictures with mobile phones. Later, Hitesh snatched Chirag's mobile, gold chain and bike keys at knife point. Meanwhile, Vishal called up Chirag's uncle Manubhai Maniyar and demanded Rs 3 lakh and threatened to circulate Chirag's compromising photos on social media," said a police official.
After receiving the threat, Manubhai met Rajkot police commissioner Mohan Jha and lodged a complaint against the accused.