Pankaj Patial
Nagpur: A woman in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district has accused her estranged boyfriend of blackmailing her into giving around Rs 33 lakh over a period of two years. The woman alleged that accused threatened to circulate her intimate photos and videos.
Nagpur’s Sonegaon police, after receiving a complaint from the affected woman, registered a case against the accused, identified as Pankaj Patial, and arrested him from Uttarakhand, where he worked as a hotel manager. His wife has also been arrested for her alleged involvement in the crime.
How it happened
As per reports, the complainant came in contact with the accused in 2017 when she visited his hotel in Nagpur’s Dhantoli for an interview. He allegedly forced himself on her and later promised her that he would tie the knot with her, despite being already married. He regularly asked her to give him money for starting hotels. Later, he began ignoring references to his marriage promise.
During an altercation, Patial showed the complainant her intimate photos and videos and began using them to blackmail her into paying him money. She, fearing that he would leak the photos and videos, gave him her savings worth Rs 11 lakh. Later, when he hankered for more, she borrowed Rs 20 lakh from two persons. Before this, Patial had allegedly taken 5 tola gold and Rs 2 lakh from her under the pretext of taking care of his sick mother.
Woman approaches police
In total, the woman gave Patial Rs 33 lakh and 5 told gold over a period of two years. After his hotel business plans in Nagpur failed, he fled to Uttarakhand, without returning the woman’s money and gold. Following this, the woman approached the police with her complaint. Police suspect that Patial might have defrauded more people by taking money from them under the pretext of starting service apartments and hotels.
