Man posing as female doctor on Facebook arrested for allegedly extorting Rs 5.2 lakh

Bahraich: A man allegedly posing as a female doctor on social media has been arrested for allegedly luring a woman with promises of helping her lose weight and become 'slim-fit', obtaining her photographs, and later threatening to circulate them online and extorting money from her, police said on Friday.

The accused allegedly used a fraudulent Facebook profile in the name of a woman doctor to contact the victim and gain her confidence, Superintendent of Police Vishwajeet Srivastava said.

"He told her that she appeared quite overweight, but could be made slim-fit and asked her to send photographs in fewer clothes for the purpose," Srivastava said, news agency PTI reported.

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When the woman hesitated, the accused allegedly told her, "I am also a woman and a doctor. Why be shy in front of a doctor?" "After being reassured, the victim shared some photographs in fewer clothes with him," the SP said.

The accused subsequently allegedly threatened to circulate the photographs on social media and kill the woman's son, and allegedly extorted Rs 5.20 lakh from her at different times, police said. The victim's family alleged that he was demanding an additional Rs 10 lakh.

The SP said the accused was arrested near Bahraich railway station on September 17 following a complaint lodged by the woman's husband at Dargah Shareef police station on September 16.

Police recovered two mobile phones from the accused, which reportedly contained the victim's photographs, besides Rs 1 lakh in cash. Another Rs 1.50 lakh was recovered from his house on his information, they said.

Police also seized an HF Deluxe Plus motorcycle, a Daikin 1.5-ton inverter air conditioner and a Samsung LED television allegedly purchased with the extorted money. Bills related to the purchases were also recovered, police said.

The case was registered under Sections 308(extortion) and 351 (criminal intimidation), among others, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and police are examining the fake social media profile, mobile phones and other technical evidence, reports PTI.

Srivastava said cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and relating to theft had also been registered against the accused in 2012.

The accused has been produced before a court, police said, adding that further investigation was underway.

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