The Vakola police have arrested seven persons for luring spa lovers to a hotel and extorting money from them at gunpoint.
The accused, arrested at Juhu, Baba Homes hotel and near Andheri Railway Station, have been identified as Nilesh Saroj, 24, Vishal Singh, 20, Aaditya Saroj, 19, Suresh Saroj, 21, Kuldeep Singh, 28, Suresh Vishawkarma, 46, and Saponkumar Sheet, 38. A gavathi katta, three cartridges, nine mobile phones of different brands, and ₹10,000 in cash were seized from them.
On July 7, the complainant received a call to visit Baba Homes hotel in Vakola for a massage, where he was robbed by four persons of ₹10,000 and made to transfer ₹85,000 to various accounts at gunpoint. The man filed a complaint, prompting the police to initiate an immediate investigation.
Traced and trapped
The accused were traced near Andheri station and a trap was set to arrest them. Further investigation revealed the involvement of three other accomplices, who were also arrested later within two hours of the crime.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 8, Dixitkumar Gedam said, “Prior to their arrest, they had already extorted money from five customers. They would deceive people by offering spa services and then extort money from them. They accepted cash payments and also used Gpay for transactions. In total, they managed to extort nearly ₹4 lakh. Each customer was forced to pay between ₹80,000 and ₹90,000.”
Senior Inspector Prakash Khandrkar and Sub-Inspector Sachin Patil, along with their team helped crack the case.
