Mumbai: Two Class 9 students extorted Rs. 3L from classmate
In a shocking incident, Maharashtra police has recently booked two Class IX students for allegedly extorting Rs. 3 lakh from their classmate in the last 18 months. The accused and victim are students of an English medium school in Kamothe, Navi Mumbai. Reportedly, a cousin of one of the accused, who is not a minor, helped them in this crime. Here's what went down.
Accused threatened to kill victim and his family
The ordeal of the victim, who is all about 15 years old, started in January 2018. The accused boasted about the cousin, saying he knew goons, and kept choppers and swords. The accused threatened to kill the victim and his family if he didn't meet their demands. The bullying took a toll on the victim's health and he started losing weight.
A phone call by victim's "friend" unearthed the crime
On Sunday, the victim's mother took him to a local hospital for a check-up. Around the same time, she received a call meant for her son. The caller asked, "Kaam ho gaya kya?". When she asked who was speaking, the caller said he was his son's friend. The victim, meanwhile, refused to divulge details about the call, making his parents suspicious.
As valuables went missing, victim's father questioned him
The following day, the victim's father, who runs a transport business, discovered some cash was missing from the house. On grilling their child about it, he said he spent it on "snacks". Since the father wasn't convinced, he took him to the shop from where he claimed he purchased the items. When the shopkeeper refuted his story, the father demanded the truth.
After months of torture, victim confided in elders
On learning about what happened, the parents approached the school. The victim told the principal that just in the last 10 days, the accused extorted Rs. 70,000 from him. Subsequently, the parents of the accused were called, who threatened the victim's father prompting him to go to police. The accused were booked under IPC Sections 386 and 34, revealed a police officer.
Had kept cash for medical, insurance and savings: Victim's father
Till June 2019, the accused extorted Rs. 2.5 lakh, gold chain worth Rs. 30,000, and a phone costing Rs. 10,000 from the victim. "The cash that's now gone was kept for medical, insurance, and savings purposes in our home," the victim's father said.
