A 59-year-old man's hopeful search for companionship landed him in a trap as he was was allegedly blackmailed, assaulted, and robbed in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura by a woman he had met online. The victim, a retired Col from Gurgaon, had joined a matrimonial site to find a life partner and had met the woman there.
He filed a complaint at the Barsana police station on Thursday, saying he had been in touch with the woman through the matrimonial platform and had accepted her invitation to meet in person on January 11. "We met in Mathura and visited Radha Rani Temple and other local places in Barsana," he said, Times Of India reported.
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Ex-Army Officer Files Complaint 2 Months After Incident
As the day came to an end, the woman claimed her brother had met with an accident and requested the Col to drop her at a nearby bus stop. He agreed. Upon reaching the location, she allegedly persuaded him into sitting inside an SUV, where some men were already present.
"I was held for approximately two hours. At least 11-12 men took me to a deserted spot, beat me, and filmed an explicit video of me at gunpoint. They threatened to release it unless I gave them money. They even contacted my relatives and extorted money from them," the retired Army officer said in his FIR.
He further alleged that the group of men snatched his mobile phone, around 12,000 in cash, gold, and debit card. The victim has claimed that he lost nearly Rs 1.95 lakh in all.
"This was my second attempt to get married. I had served 17.5 years in the Army I never imagined something like this could happen to me while just trying to find a partner," he said.
The FIR was lodged at Barsana police station in Mathura on Thursday evening more than two months after the incident occurred.
"Based on the complaint of the retired Army officer, an FIR has been registered under IPC sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 308(2) (extortion), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation)," SHO (Barsana) Rajkamal Singh said, adding that a probe is underway, TOI reported.
The SHO said that police is also investigating the delay by the retired officer in filing the complaint. "At present, the FIR names the woman. Further names will be added based on our findings," he added.
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