Tourist Extortion Racket Busted in Goa

Three individuals, including two women, were apprehended in Goa for allegedly extorting money from a tourist from Punjab. The accused were identified as Babita Ramesh Upadhyay from Mumbai, Sutapa Banerjee from West Bengal, and local resident Deepak Salgaonkar. They had coerced the tourist to transfer Rs 20,000.

Three persons, including two women, have been arrested for allegedly extorting money from a Punjab-based tourist in Porvorim, Goa, according to a police official.

The accused have been identified as Babita Ramesh Upadhyay from Mumbai, Sutapa Banerjee from West Bengal, and Deepak Salgaonkar, a local resident.

The arrests were made following a complaint by Sagar Ansari, who alleged that he and his friend were forced to transfer Rs 20,000 to the bank accounts of the accused on August 30. The police tracked down the car used by Salgaonkar in Calangute, leading to the arrest of the two women in Anjuna.

The two women had posed as members of an escort service and threatened to file a rape case against Ansari, subsequently extorting money from him, the official stated.

(With inputs from agencies.)