Mumbai: A Delhi-based advocate, who was arrested along with a woman for allegedly blackmailing and trying to extort Rs 2.5 crore from a real estate agent from Ahmedabad in exchange for withdrawing a rape complaint, was sent to judicial custody on Monday. The woman co-accused, who had filed the rape complaint, was remanded to two more days of police custody.The 37th Metropolitan Magistrate, D S Khedekar, sent advocate Sahityaraj Mishra to judicial custody after observing that the police had not provided sufficient grounds to seek his custodial interrogation, while Nivedita Sharma was remanded to further police custody for continued investigation.The 32-year-old complainant alleged that Sharma, who had got his brother-in-law arrested in a rape case registered at the Airport police station, initially demanded Rs 4 crore to withdraw the complaint, but later agreed to settle the matter for Rs 2.5 crore.On Saturday, the Anti-Extortion Cell of Mumbai Crime Branch had laid a trap and allegedly caught Sharma red-handed while accepting Rs 45 lakh from the complainant’s brother-in-law.Investigating officer Anil Wayal told the court that Sharma’s custody was required to recover an alleged token amount of Rs 5 lakh and to obtain her voice samples for forensic examination. “During our investigation, we have learnt that a similar extortion case has been registered against Sharma in Goa. We have sought details of that case. We also want to verify the voices of persons heard in group conference call recordings, including Sharma’s sister, who is required to join the investigation. We are also searching for Sharma’s alleged accomplice, Bait Khan,” Wayal informed the court.Mishra’s lawyers argued that he had no role in the alleged extortion and was merely attempting to mediate between the parties. “He was not even present during the trap. In fact, he was in a hotel room when the police called him and arrested him,” the defence team submitted before the court.After hearing all sides, the court held that the police had failed to establish grounds for Mishra’s further custodial interrogation and therefore remanded him to judicial custody. Sharma, however, was sent to further police custody to facilitate the ongoing investigation.
