The Anti-Extortion Cell of the Navi Mumbai police on Friday found that the 37-year-old Taloja resident, who was arrested on Thursday for blackmailing the father of a 25-year-old girl to end their love affair, had committed a similar crime two months ago when he tried to extort money from a woman doctor.
This came to light following a scrutiny of the call records of the accused, Pritam Ranade. The Assistant Police Inspector Deepak Shikhare, Anti-Extortion Cell, Navi Mumbai Crime Branch, said, “Even when he was in a relationship with the third girl, he was hunting for another target to earn money. He found out about a doctor who had marital issues and started making calls to her. Records show that he had made about 70 phone calls to her over a period of six months. He tried to convince her that she should have an affair with him since she does not have anyone in life but the doctor did not fall for him.”
Twice married, Ranade in 2015 had extorted Rs. 1 lakh from Priya’s (name changed) businessman-father for ending relations with her. On Monday, Ranade approached Priya’s father again and asked him to pay an additional Rs. 2 lakh, threatening to post his daughter’s pictures on social networking sites if he failed to do so.
On Thursday, the Anti-Extortion police contacted Ranade’s second wife Vaishali Mudaliyar, and recorded her statement. She told the police that the accused’s motive was to either pursue a rich, woman professional or someone who had a wealthy family background.
In 2014, Ranade had got in touch with Priya, a final law student, via OLX on the pretext of finding a shared flat for his friend’s sister. Priya, who was staying in Navi Mumbai as a paying guest, was also in search of a shared apartment.
Ranade had introduced himself as Adwait Pradhan and said he worked as a software troubleshooter. The duo soon started a relationship. In July 2015, Ms. Mudaliyar registered a case against Ranade for dowry harassment. He was arrested briefly before getting bailed.
The writer is a freelance journalist
Records show that the accused made about 70 phone calls to the doctor over a period of six months
Records show that he had made about 70 phone calls to her over a period of six months.
