Santacruz man arrested for raping, extorting Gujarat woman

They met in March 2024, when he promised her a job and over time, they got into an affair. When she wanted to part ways with him, he started to blackmail her, the police said

MUMBAI: A 48-year-old man from Santacruz was arrested on Sunday for allegedly blackmailing a woman using her obscene pictures to rape and extort her. They met in March 2024, when he promised her a job and over time, they got into an affair. When she wanted to part ways with him, he started to blackmail her, the police said.

He befriended her, promising a job, and over time, they started dating. When she wanted to part ways with him, he blackmailed her.

According to the police, the victim was a 32-year-old woman from Rajkot in Gujarat, where she lived with her husband. She was on the lookout for a job when she met the accused, Applon Fernandes, in March 2024. Fernandes came across her biodata on an online job-securing platform and befriended her, promising her a job. Thereafter, they stayed in touch and over time, they started dating.

The woman, in her complaint, told the police that she often visited Mumbai to meet Fernandes in a hotel in Santacruz. During one such trip, they had consensual sex, during which the accused clicked her photos, said a police officer. “After a few days, when she wanted to part ways with him, he blackmailed her with the pictures and forced her to have sex with him. He threatened to post her obscene photos on social media and also send them to her husband,” the officer said.

He also extorted money from her and when she was fed up with his physical and financial exploitation, she approached the police on Friday, he added. On Sunday, the police arrested Fernandes and produced him before a court on Monday, which remanded him in police custody.