Three women held for ‘confining man’, ‘extorting Rs 89K online’

Kolkata: Three women were arrested by Kolkata Police for allegedly confining a man in a room in the Sonagachi red-light area of north Kolkata and extorting Rs 89,000 from him through online transactions.

According to a complaint lodged at Burtolla Police Station, the incident occurred when the victim was walking along a road in the area and was forcibly taken into a room by the accused, suspected to

be sex workers.

The women allegedly snatched his mobile phone, assaulted him when he said he had little cash, and threatened to make video calls to his family to show that he was inside a brothel.

Police said the accused pressured the man to transfer money digitally and coerced him into revealing his ATM PIN, enabling them to siphon off Rs 89,000 in phases.

The victim later managed to escape and alerted police. Acting on his complaint, officers took him to the spot, where he identified the room and the accused, who were arrested. Police are probing possible links to similar cases.