Mumbai, Mar 22 (Mid-day) : Police have arrested a Mulund-based businessman for allegedly raping and blackmailing a married woman whom he befriended on a popular social networking website.

The accused Dharmik Saumaya is a garment merchant and had allegedly raped the 35-year-old housewife twice over a period of four months, and extorted a huge sum of money from her after clicking pictures of them in compromising positions during their meeting in September last year. According to the police, Saumaya became friends with the survivor on Facebook six months ago. Two months later in November, they decided to meet at a hotel in Kurla. The woman, in her complaint, has alleged that Saumaya forced himself on her during their meeting and raped her. He also clicked pictures of them in a compromising position after which he started blackmailing her, threatening to show the photographs to her husband and people in her locality.

He extorted Rs 1.55 lakh from her and also raped her the second time when she had met him to give him the money. Scared of the repercussions, the survivor did not approach the police at that time. But when the accused started harassing her for more money, she confided in her brother and reported the matter to the local police station. Mulund police officials transferred the case to VB Nagar police station as the incident took place in Kurla, which is under their jurisdiction. Senior police inspector Subhash Raut from VB Nagar police station said, “Saumaya began blackmailing her after threatening to show the pictures to her husband and everyone in the locality. She got scared and started paying the desired amount. When we interrogated the accused, we came to know that he has spent all the money on his business expenses.” The accused has been booked under sections 376 (punishment for rape) and 384 (punishment for extortion) of the Indian Penal Code, along with sections 66 (E) and 67 of IT act.